| Prayer
Why
do we pray?
Praying
is the most important activity of our Christian lives.
The entire Trinity involves our relationship with God.
Abba,
dear Father, teach me how to pray. We need to remember
that you and I were made for a relationship with God.
Praying is our communication with God.
Even
though we go through struggles we need to give thanks
for our many blessings. When we pray we ask for forgiveness
and we are given an opoortunity to dust our shoes from
the dirt we pick up along our life's path and renew ourselves.
Active
Prayer
If
prayer was such a profound part of Jesus' life, can it
be any less important to our lives? Just as the fishermen,
tax collectors, homemakers and farmers of Christ's time
learned how to pray, so can we. By His example and teaching,
we learn to:
Praise
God.
Acknowledge God as your Abba Father, Prince of Peace,
Wonderful Counselor, Redeemer and King. Spend time worshiping
the Lord in song, conversation, written prayer, quiet
contemplation. Too often we drop our wish list during
the first line of prayer, then hurry out the door. Like
Moses, we need to slow down--for the place on which we
stand before God in prayer is holy ground. Praise prepares
the ground for all the other steps of prayer.Confess our
sins. Like Peter, we may feel certain we will never betray
the Lord, but then before we turn around twice, we have
sinned again. Confession is for our good, so we will not
wander away from God through arrogance or regret.
Look
at Daniel.
The
ninth chapter, verse 1 through 15, is one of the best
examples of confession in the entire Bible. Daniel turns
his face toward the Lord through fasting, sackcloth, and
ashes, confessing the sins of the people in minute detail.
He spares nothing.
"…all
Israel has transgressed Your law...we have not made our
prayer before the Lord our God…" (v. 11). Daniel
is desperate at this point. And then comes the most profound
passage in the entire chapter. Daniel saw again the man,
Gabriel, whom he had seen at the beginning of his vision.
"And he informed me, and talked with me, and said,
'O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you skill to
understand. At the beginning of your supplication the
command went out, and I have come to tell you, for you
are greatly beloved...'"( vs. 22-23).
What
joy! After a litany of transgressions, God had mercy on
him and on his people. The Lord heard Daniel's confession
and He not only forgave him, but He also told him he was
greatly loved.
Make
restitution.
If we have not taken anything that doesn't belong to us,
we may feel exempt from this action step. Like Zaccheus
in the New Testament, we may feel righteous about our
honesty.
"Look,
Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor," he argued,
but then Zaccheus gave himself away. "…and
if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation,
I restore fourfold" (Luke 19:8).
Jesus'
reply confirmed that what he confessed was true. "Today,
salvation has come to this house…" (Luke 19:9).
How quick the Lord was to draw attention to Zaccheus'
defensive attitude, and just as quick to restore him when
he admitted the truth.
Though
we may not steal goods, we may take away a person's joy
with a negative word, or someone's name through slander,
or rob him of his peace of mind with lies.
Whatever
we have stolen it is up to us to go to that person and
make restitution. Replace what we have taken. Repair what
has been broken. Restore the feelings of trust.
Thank
Him.
Most of us have no problem asking for what we want, but
too often we don't like the answer we receive.
Forgive
those who have hurt you.
If
God so loved us as to forgive us and take us in, how essential
it is for us to forgive those who have hurt us, and to
ask forgiveness from those we have hurt.
Forgiveness
opens the way to restoration--restoration between you
and the other party, of course, but more important, between
you and God. Even if the other person is the offender
and you are the victim, you can initiate the healing by
asking forgiveness for being angry or resentful.
When
you are willing to take the first step, the other person
is likely to take a step, as well, asking you for your
forgiveness. But if that doesn't happen, you can still
forgive him or her before God. To forgive another is also
an act of love on our own behalf.
"When
you release the wrongdoer from the wrong," wrote
Louis Smedes in his book Forgive and Forget, "you
cut a malignant tumor out of your inner self. You set
a prisoner free, but you discover that the real prisoner
was yourself."
Pray
believing.
The
Lord also teaches us that "…whatever things
you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive" (Matthew
21:22).
- David
met Goliath believing that God would deliver the Philistine
into his hands.
- The
woman with the issue of blood touched Jesus' garment,
believing, and she was healed.
- Mary
Magdalene, believing, kissed the feet of Jesus and washed
them with her tears, and she was forgiven.
Our
new life in Christ begins with faith.
We
build on that foundation. God is not impressed with the
length or the volume or the quantity or the logic of our
prayers. It is our faith He wants. Faith moves mountains.
Faith saves sinners. Faith heals brokenness.
Ask
, seek and knock.
"God's seasons are not at your beck," wrote
nineteenth century preacher, C.H. Spurgeon. "If the
first stroke of the flint doth not bring forth the fire,
you must strike again. God will hear prayer, but He may
not answer it at the time which we in our minds have appointed."
If
you have not received an answer to a fervent prayer, perhaps
you have not waited long enough. Some of us ask, but leave
before God replies. We seek, then run away. We knock and
take off before He opens the door. But the Lord tells
us to keep on asking, seeking, and knocking (Matthew 7:7).
His promises never return a void.
Submit
to God's authority.
Even though the Lord has given you a good mind and common
sense, during prayer be open to His mind and submit to
His authority. "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him
ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach,
and it will be given to him" (James 1:5). What a
promise!
Through
prayer all things are possible to those who believe. "Lord,
we do believe. Teach us to pray."
Does
God answer our prayers?
And
Jesus said... If 2 or more of you agree about something,
it WILL be done by my Father.
><(((º> |
