No Prayer, No Life;know Prayer Know Life! Series

Part 3 of the series; Getting in spiritual shape: No prayer, No Life; Know Prayer, Know Life

Prayer- Most people associate prayer with trouble and hardship or when something is needed.

I often had the idea that prayer was just that but throughout the years I have learned that prayer is more than asking for things or seeking a way out of our troubles! It is the one thing that kept me in the relationship that I have right now!!!

That relationship is with God the father! Prayer is our means of talking with someone we know every time we have the chance to. Ben Patterson in his book “Deepening Your Conversation with God” said that prayer is a discipline before it becomes a joy, and it remains a discipline even after it becomes a joy”

Today I want to talk about developing a consistent prayer life in part 3 of the series “Getting in spiritual Shape” No prayer, No Life; Know prayer, Know Life!

Ephesians 6:18(NLT); Pray at all times and on every occasion in the power of the Holy Spirit. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all Christians everywhere.

Pray everywhere and pray with persistence; to many times we pray for something or someone for some time but we get tired and give in to discouragement. If we continue to pray, God will grant us the power to continue to do so!

James 4:8 (NLT); Draw close to God and God will draw close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, you hypocrites.

Intimacy with God starts with a pure heart; a pure heart does not necessarily mean that our hearts must free of guilt or evil….we must come to him with an honest heart and realize that he sees everything within our hearts. Relationships are developed through constant communication. An open book policy should be the norm.

1 Thessalonians 5:17-18 (NKJV)

17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Don’t stop praying until God Answers your request! There is an acronym for the letters that spell out the word “P.U.S.H”; it stands for Pray Until Something Happens!!!

God is not trying to fool with your heart when he doesn’t answer our prayer the way we expect Him too! Sometimes God wants us to learn something about Him and our spiritual development! Thanksgiving is essential in our prayer time! Ungrateful people don’t get anywhere in life!

Matthew 6:6 (New Living Translation) Find a secret place:

6 But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father secretly. Then your Father, who knows all secrets, will reward you.

There is something special about finding a secret place for alone time with God, it gives us the opportunity to say things we don’t normally say to anyone or everyone! The best part is…..God is our audience!! He is so ready and eager to hear our prayers. God is the one who blesses us in our public life when we pray in secret to the Father!!!

Hebrews 4:16 (NIV)

16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Know that he is there for you! We have cart blanch with God we it comes to approaching Him with our needs! God said that we have complete access into His presence!!!

Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV)

6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God

7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Never let anxiety get the best of you! Anxiety can ruin the best prayer life! When anxiety gets a hold of you, you can’t concentrate on God. Often times it is simply worrying about something that hasn’t happened!!! God’s peace is not affected by outward circumstances!

It is the peace that goes beyond our own comprehension….our minds are too finite to even understand such a concept but we can be sure that his divine peace can and will guard us from thinking about negative things or even think that we will never see a miracle manifest in our

lifetime!

Closing: Prayer gets God’s work done! When we pray or simply put talk to the Father he will answer our request at the right time, for the right reasons with the right circumstances!!! He is an on time God he is never too early nor is he too late…..he answers right on time!!!!! Know Prayer and surely you will experience Life in Christ Jesus, today!!!