When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also
was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened.
Luke 3:21
The greatest moments in a Christian's life come through prayer. When Jesus prayed, heaven opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him. The Spirit came upon the disciples as they gathered to pray on the day of Pentecost (Acts 1:14; 2:1). When the disciples prayed together after Pentecost, their gathering place was shaken, and they were emboldened to proclaim the gospel throughout the city (Acts 4:31).
Prayer is not a substitute for hard work—prayer is the work! God does things in and through our lives by prayer that He does in no other way. As we pray and as our attention is turned toward God, we become more receptive to aligning our lives with His will. God will not equip us with His power while we are racing off to our next appointment! His Spirit will not empower us if we are oblivious to what He is saying. He requires our complete attention before He will fill us with the powerful presence of His Spirit.
If you want to learn how to pray, use Jesus as your model. Jesus did not always receive what He asked for, but His prayers were always heard and always answered (Mark 14:36; Heb. 5:7). If you do not sense the Holy Spirit's power in your life, you may not be spending adequate time in prayer. Perhaps you are pursuing your own agenda rather than seeking the Father's will. You may have abandoned the place of prayer before God's answer came. If you will commit yourself to spend sustained time in prayer, asking for God's kingdom on earth, God will work in your life just as He did in the lives of Jesus and His disciples. - Blackaby Experiencing God Day by Day
Wow...someone must really need to heahear about prayer and its importance this morning. The complications arising to keep me from writing down this post are monumental.
Prayer is certainly the will of God in the lives of His people. In the lives of believers everywhere.
Right now it's the foremost in my own mind as this warfare goes on in the world today. It's the only thing that Satan cannot stop...only we can. It's the one thing he wants to stop because God always hears the prayers of His family. It is impossible for Satan to intercept. But he can influence how we pray. He can affect the content of our prayers.
He can sway our circumstances to pretty much insure what those prayers will be about and won't be about.
Hadn't thought of that before did you?
Our prayers take us beyond any veil that was ever between God and Man.
Selfishness can permeate our prayers. Certainly fear can. Of this I freely confess that fears are in my own discourse between myself and my Savior. Fears abound in this world and it helps not that our mainstream media and politicians do what they can to make people afraid.
Prayer is our primary weapon in Spiritual Warfare. Whether or not you agree, whether or not you are a believer in Jesus Christ or not, you are in a war. Satan wants the Throne of God and anything precious in the eyes of God is game to him to be used to try to get there. Even though he knows he has lost when Jesus arose from the dead. No other so called prophet or religious leader has ever done what was prophesied of the Savior. Over 500 prophesies foretell of His coming 2 thousand years ago. Because of God's plans, prayer came to all who would call upon the name of Jesus Christ.
Our hope is in Christ. Our lives are hidden in Christ, for those who are saved that is.
Without Christ you, my friend, are on your own. You will stand before Christ one day trying to defend yourself in a hopeless case. Because the Bible says that same Judge is also the same one who could have saved you. You can have that Judge as your Savior today if you would only come to Him. Check out Romans Road to Salvation.
Prayer is the way to talk to God and is our way to find peace in a fallen world.
I pray with my Wife every morning before work. I pray on my way to work. Often during the day too. It's no sign of weakness it's a sign of dependence upon my God who has made great promises.
It's my sin nature that also weakens my prayers. Fears can impact my prayers. Right now I am in the midst of a situation where indeed I am scared. I take that to my Lord in prayer. He is able to go and do where I cannot.
Let your first simple prayer today be "save me!" if Jesus isn't your Savior yet. The Bible promises that all who call upon the name of the Lord Jesus shall be saved.
If you are a Christian, when was the last time you had a good talk with Jesus?
Today you can change everything...if you begin in prayer.
No comments:
Post a Comment