Prayer

So there again we see that we must be following God’s commands and trying to live what is considered a holy life…remember we are suppose to Love the Lord with all our heart, with all our soul, and mind and were suppose to love our neighbor as ourselves!

IV. We must give thanks at the same time (Philippians 4:6).

Thanking God ahead of time is like showing confidence that He will hear your prayer and that He will answer it…

Look at Philippians 4:6,

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

Oh man now this one…see it is easy to praise God and give Him the thanks he deserves when things are going well, but the Bible says that even when things stink…when your life is no fun, when your suffering…you still have to give thanks to God! And honestly can’t we always find something to thank God for?

This reminds me of the story behind the Hymn it is well with my soul…in fact watch this video clip…

Yes, there is always something to be thanking God for…

This is why we can say things like, and maybe you have heard these things before:

And they always come at a time when you don’t want to hear them, and you know them…

Give all your cares to God…

Let go and let God…

Stop worrying and start praying…

A really cool thing is that God never commands us to worry about anything, in fact He promises over and over again that He will look out for those who follow after Him and who keep His commands.

V. We must be watching for answers (Colossians 4:2)

Sometimes were praying and praying for something and then we just give up, but God already gave us the answer we just weren’t keeping a close eye on things…

Colossians 4:2 Warns us,

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful

Don’t miss the answer because you gave up looking for it. If you pray, God will hear your prayers! Kind of like the story when the John and Peter go running to the tomb of Jesus with Mary Magdalene and they leave, but she stays, well she didn’t give up, she stayed and was watchful for the answer… and she was rewarded by seeing Christ.

VI. We must seek spiritual things first (Matthew 6:33)

What are you seeking in life? What are you really devoted to? If your seeking your own will, if your asking for your will to be done…nothing good is going to come out of that…we are to seek the Kingdom of God…we are to attempt to live Holy lives…we are to Seek RIGHTEOUSNESS

Matthew 6:33 in Christ’s own words says,

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

And if you read the verse in context with its surrounding scripture you notice that what Jesus is talking about here is our daily needs, food, shelter, and clothes…much like God supplies for all His creation He will supply for those who are trying to connect with Him. God will never leave you, nor forsake you!

VII. We must pray for our fellow Christians (Ephesians 6:18)

The world is a big place right? And there are tons of Christians all over the globe…and the Bible is clear and it instructs us to be in prayer for all of God’s church and this makes sense right, after all we are just one body…one group united in Christ.