Prayer is not hard and yet it is one of the hardest things for the Christian to do. There are many opportunities throughout our day to pray. We are commanded to pray and not to cease praying, so clearly, we got some praying to do!
Today, I want to share a quick list on what prayer is and some ways we can pray.
A genuine prayer life:
- involves Bible reading, a meditation of chewing on what the scripture says, actively thinking about God’s word (See: How To Mediate On God’s Word (The Right Way) & Why It’s Important)
- praising God for being God, give Him the glory
- praying for others, for the world,
- praying for self, self-examination
- thanking the Lord for all of the kind blessings He gives everyday
- involves words, words, and more words (not silence)
- involves critical thinking
- involves active thought about:
- what God is doing in our life
- what His word says
- where we fall short
- what the Gospel message is about
- and how much we need Jesus every second
- involves repenting of sin, acknowledging sin, asking for help with our sins and short-comings, and THANKING Him for the cross
- asks for help against temptations and to receive convictions from the Holy Spirit
- praying for people who have sinned against us, their salvation, and prayer of exposing potential seeds of our own darkness we might be sowing because of these issues.
- some prayers may be longer than others, some may be shorter. Prayer is not meant to be ritualistic.
- we can repeat the same requests, but not in a robotic manner, not for the purpose to soothe ourselves. If you think of a situation, a person, or something you’re struggling through, lift it up to Jesus and pray about it, and do this throughout the day, if you can. Prayer is important. It’s okay to give God the same requests, if you or someone else is going through something. The point is being sincere.
The focus of prayer is Jesus Christ. It’s not about us gaining anything. We already have gained everything through the One who died on the cross and resurrected, imputing His righteousness to us, and adopting us as His own children, for all who put their faith in Him.
Our walk with Jesus is active, not empty. There will always be something we can pray for. Always.
See: Matthew 6:09-13 (The Lord’s prayer) Matthew 6:05-08 (When you pray) Ephesians 6:18 & Philippians 4:06 (Pray always, with all kinds of prayers and petitions) Mark 12:30 (We love the Lord with all of our mind, heart, soul, and strength)
(This post is a portion from my post on Contemplative Prayer and the dangers of Contemplative Prayer.)
The Gospel Message: With the Good News means there’s bad news. We all are sinners and condemned. We all deserve the just punishment of God’s wrath. Christianity is unlike any other religion because we cannot earn our way into Heaven. God saw the weakness of man and his utter depravity. Yet, He showed us grace. Jesus, God, One Person of the Trinity, became God in the flesh, the God-Man. He was always perfect and sinless. And His humanity was perfected on the cross, living the full sinless life. He became our atonement sacrifice. Dying in our place, taking on the wrath of God upon Himself. He died on the cross, and He was resurrected because death could not hold Him. Jesus is the answer. We, as guilty sinners, need His blood to pay off our debt of sin. For all who put their faith in Him – meaning eyes are opened to the Gospel, we see ourselves as a sinner, we see the need for Christ, we desire our Savior, and we see the ugliness of our sin. Putting our faith in Jesus, we seek HIs forgiveness and repent from our sins, we turn away from our old way of life. We, through the work of the Holy Spirit, continue to become convicted of sin daily. Our eyes will never be the same again. We see things in a different light, and the truth of Christ affects how we live and serve Him. Christ tells us to count the cost. Salvation is a serious topic, it is not to be taken lightly. For a breakdown of this powerful message, understanding how Christ could be God and Man, why God required sacrifices, and more -please see: Why Did A Loving God Kill His Son? (Does God Hate?)
If you think you know the Gospel, check out these questions and see how prepared you are for the day someone might ask you why you believe: The Gospel Challenge (30 Question Quiz) – Are You Ready To Defend Your Faith?
Scripture To Meditate On – (ESV) Matthew 4:10, “Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’”
Community Prayer – August ’22
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