Posted on 03/01/2020 10:07:30 AM PST by metmom
"Pray at all times in the Spirit" (Eph. 6:18).
Spiritual victory is directly related to the quality of your prayer life.
Prayer is communication with God, and like all communication, it can be developed to maximum efficiency or allowed to languish. Which you choose will determine the quality of your spiritual life.
Ironically, the freedom of worship we enjoy in our society and our high standard of living make it easy to become complacent about prayer and presume on God's grace. Consequently, many who say they trust in God actually live as if they don't need Him at all. Such neglect is sinful and leads to spiritual disaster.
Jesus taught that "men ought always to pray, and not to faint" (Luke 18:1, KJV). "Faint" speaks of giving in to evil or becoming weary or cowardly. Paul added that we should pray at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and petition, and "be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints" (Eph. 6:18).
First Thessalonians 5:17 says, "Pray without ceasing." That doesn't mean to do nothing but pray. It simply means living in a constant state of God-consciousness. If you see a beautiful sunrise or a bouquet of flowers, your first response is to thank God for the beauty of His creation. If you see someone in distress, you intercede on his or her behalf. You see every experience of life in relation to God.
God wants you to be diligent and faithful in prayer. With that goal in mind we will devote this month to a study of prayer from two texts: Daniel's prayer in Daniel 9:1-19, and the disciples' prayer in Matthew 6:9-13. Both are models of majestic, effective prayer.
As we study those passages together, be aware of your own pattern of prayer. Examine it carefully for strengths and weaknesses. Be prepared to make any necessary changes.
Suggestions for Prayer
Thank God for the privilege of communing with Him in prayer. Ask Him to reveal any areas in your praying that need to be strengthened.
For Further Study
Read Daniel 9:1-19.
What prompted Daniel's prayer? What was Daniel's attitude toward God? Toward himself and his people? What did Daniel request?
Studying God’s Word ping
Our church in San Antonio has many members involved in the healthcare field, both military and civilian, so special prayers were said for their protection during this time. Prayer in the name of Jesus is powerful.
A good article that I needed to read. Thanks.
I needed it, too.
A relationship with God through prayer is how I remind myself of how truly ignorant I had been in past years when claiming to be a Christian when in actuality I was living as any other sinner who has yet to surrender to our loving God . Once you realize the peace obtained because of prayer you will shun satan and the chaos he generates and allow the helper (holy spirit) to lead you down the right paths that have always been in front of you . The battle is constant and never ends , prayer and praise to God is what allows me to see the absolute beauty of Gods work ....in everything . His brilliance is beyond our meager comprehension as is his love . Thank you Jesus for rekindling the relationship with our Father the Almighty . May Gods grace be with you all.
Unceasing prayer without an answer can lead someone to be convinced that there is no God or that He has abandoned us, which is just as bad.
I suppose that's true if you're praying for "stuff" or a certain result in a situation.
It doesn't work that way. Some nose in the Bible time will explain why.
The prayer has been answered. Sounds like it's a no.
Ping!
Keeping a prayer journal helps.
I did once and was shocked at the number of prayers that had been answered as we had asked.
We humans have a tendency to quickly forget the good and focus on the bad.
So while we often have one of two things that we’ve been praying for for a long time that are important to us and haven’t seen the answer yet, dozens if not more, of smaller answered ones go by daily. And yet, we send up a quick thanks and soon forget about it and continue to focus on the big one.
And yes, they are big. I know in my case, we’ve got several big ones in process and waiting for the answer we want.
However, God has provided so much beyond that, much of it we prayed for and a bunch of it that we didn’t pray about at all, He just sent it along.
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