Always Praying

Grace to You.org ^ | 1993 | John MacArthur, Grace Community Church

[metmom]

"With all prayer and petition pray at all times" (Eph. 6:18).

Make prayer an ongoing part of your day.

As important as prayer is to your Christian life, you might expect Paul to list it as another piece of spiritual armor, but he doesn't. Instead, he makes it all-pervasive by instructing us to pray at all times. That's our spiritual lifeline—the air our spirits breathe. The effectiveness of each piece of armor is directly related to the quality of our prayers.

We see the importance of prayer throughout the New Testament. Jesus instructed His disciples to be on the alert at all times, praying so that they would have strength to face the trials and temptations that lie ahead (Luke 21:36). The apostles devoted themselves to prayer (Acts 6:4), as did godly people like Cornelius (Acts 10:2). Every Christian is to be continually devoted to prayer (Rom. 12:12).

In Philippians 4:6 Paul says, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God." He told the Thessalonians to "pray without ceasing" (1 Thess. 5:17) and instructed men everywhere to "pray, lifting up holy hands" (1 Tim. 2:8).

Jesus and Paul not only exhorted believers to pray, but also modeled diligent prayer in their own lives. Jesus often went for extended periods of time alone to pray. Paul wrote often of his own fervent prayers on behalf of others (cf. Col. 1:9; Philem. 4).

As a child, you may have been taught that prayer is reserved for mealtimes, bedtime, or church services. That's a common misconception many children carry into their adult years. But believers are to be in constant communication with God, which is simply the overflow of seeing all of life from His perspective. Just as you would discuss your everyday experiences and feelings with a close friend, so you're to discuss them with God.

God loves you and wants to share your every joy, sorrow, victory, and defeat. Be conscious of His presence today and take advantage of the sweet communion He offers.

Suggestions for Prayer

Thank God that He's always available to hear your prayers. Ask Him to give you a desire to commune with Him more faithfully.

For Further Study

What do these verses say about the most appropriate times for prayer: Psalm 55:16-17, Daniel 6:10, Luke 6:12, and 1 Timothy 5:5?

[metmom]

Once I was at a church function and kept trying to leave and get home early but just couldn’t get away.

About 40 mins later, I finally was able to leave. As I drove home there was a serious accident that they were cleaning up from.

Another time, I took a wrong turn and had to take a bridge over a river and then turn around and go back. As I was driving along, a distance ahead of me but still within sight, someone hit a light pole on the expressway. The light pole went airborne and crashed onto the road. It was far enough ahead that I was able to avoid any of the debris but always wondered if my vehicle wouldn’t have been hit with it if I had been that much further ahead.

My kids were little and very wide eyed at the whole experience.

Another time, when the kids were really little, we were pulling up to a stop light and there was a car in the lane next to us and suddenly I had a vision of a guy in the front passenger seat rolling his window down and saying something that I sensed I did not want the kids to hear.

So I quickly rolled up the window and told the kids that if the guy in the car next to us said anything to us, to not look at him and pretend that we couldn’t hear him.

Sure enough, it happened EXACTLY as in the vision. I have no idea what he was trying to say, but it turned out to be a car full of college aged guys so I can only imagine.

I told the kids that God warned me that that was going to happen.

Stuff like that doesn’t happen a lot but boy does it leave an impression when it does.

[metmom]

That’s great!

Praise God.

[MamaB]

Back in the late 90’s, my younger daughter got real sick. We took her to the Mayo Clinic in MN. By the early 2000’s she was much worse. In 2004, she was in a local hospital. I was going to see her but remembered that I had forgotten to ask her if she wanted something from Chick fa let. I called her back but no one answered her phone. I kept calling and finally a nurse answered and said she had been taken to ICU. I hurried to the hospital. By that time my husband was there, too and a few minutes later our 2 grandkids were there. We were standing outside the ICU unit when we realized something was terribly wrong. A few minutes later her dr came it and said she was gone. We all were in shock. Children are not supposed to die before parents.
That was the very worst thing any parent can go through. As time went on, I realized that God had seen her future and did not want His child to go through any more pain. That was in 2004. In May, 2006, my older brother was found dead by his tractor. In July, 2006, my husband died of liver cancer. Again, as time went on, we realized that God had seen his suffering, and decided enough was enough. Two weeks later, my sister's husband died. He had polio as a kid and still suffered from it. If those were not enough, my mom died in January, 2007. If it had not been for God, I doubt if we would still be here. He is the answer. I am crying writing this. It has not been easy for any of us. God bless.

[combat_boots]

I am so, so sorry. So very sorry.

[visualops]

oh goodness. Lord have mercy. I remember when your daughter passed and I read your posts. It’s a bit strange to be on here and there are posts from folks you don’t really know but we have a certain family camaraderie here. I would give you a good hug if I could.

[visualops]

well said

[boatbums]

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort. (I Corinthians 1:3-7)

You've been through a lot of loss and trials. It is a testament to your faith that you can rest in and trust the Lord to see you through it all. He IS the God of all comfort!

[chuckles]

I would say, "Sorry for your loss".

You made your question generic. Not every prayer is equal. There are people that never go to church, have sin in their life,and certainly aren't baptized in the Spirit, asked to pray for people daily. James 5:14-15 says they will be raised up. Does it say "some of them will be raised up"? Psm 103:3 says ALL diseases, not some of them. There are literally dozens of verses that say the same thing. It also speaks of forgiven sins. You won't find a verse that talks of healing not connected with sin. To God it's the same. If you believe your sins are forgiven, why can't you believe your disease is healed? Many times when prayer isn't answered as you ask, there may be a problem with sin, faith, or even salvation. many ask amis, Do you believe many think they are saved that aren't? Jesus told some that cast out demons and prophesied that He didn't know them. When you pray and are thinking in the back of your mind, "What if they don't get healed?", you may have a faith problem. You can't please God without faith.

Someone mentioned Job earlier. People forget why God lifted the hedge he had around Job to allow Satan to ravage him. If you go to the end of the book, you find that Job had a pride problem. He left God out of the equation and decided he was good. he paid his tithe, lived out the Word of God, was pious in his walk, but in the end, God asked where was he when God set the boundaries of the land and oceans, ect.

[MamaB]

I was going through a box tonight and found the pages of posts
from people on here when she died. I had printed them . It is hard to believe she has been gone 12 years. Thanks for the hug! God bless.

[ealgeone]

I would say, "Sorry for your loss".

Paul prayed three times to have something healed. Three times God told him no.

Are you willing to say Paul's faith was insufficient?

[ealgeone]

Whenever I think my prayers make zero sense....I am gently reminded of this.

26In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;

27and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

Romans 8:26-27 NASB

[boatbums]

Do you at least acknowledge that the physical "healing" we pray to God about can sometimes happen quickly, sometimes it takes awhile and, most importantly, when it doesn't happen in this life, that we all WILL be healed when we receive our glorified bodies in heaven with Christ?

In Jesus' three year ministry on earth he healed many people, but he didn't heal EVERY person. In John chapter 5, there was a great multitude of sick people gathered at the pool at Bethesda. Yet Jesus only picked out one crippled man and healed him.

In John chapter 9, Jesus healed a blind man and when His disciples asked Jesus why the man was blind, thinking it was some sin he had or his parents had, Jesus said neither he nor his parents sinned, but he was blind so that when he was healed God was glorified. I believe God is glorified when He heals and God is glorified when He doesn't heal yet the person's faith never waivers. We live by faith and not by sight. True faith, faith that doesn't waiver in the face of suffering, is the kind of faith believers should always live out so that whether we abound or are abased we learn to be content because He will never leave us or forsake us.

[Mark17]

Words of wisdom. Thanks BB.

[Iscool]

Prayer can be the most dangerous activity if one expects to receive an answer and it is not forthcoming. It may lead to a condition of despair and depression.
I know, I know, we must have faith. Where is it available at Walmart or anywhere else? Personally I cannot remember a prayer that was answered and I don’t expect any answers any time soon.

How sad...

[Iscool]

Some Orthodox Christians, particularly monks and nuns, have traditionally tried to carry out this scriptural admonition by saying the Jesus Prayer ("Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.") almost constantly.

That's odd...Don't these guys ever get to the point of saying, 'Thank you Lord Jesus for forgiving my sins'???

[chuckles]

..."Three times God told him no."...

It wasn't God's will to heal him and He told him so.

[chuckles]

Yes, God heals in His time. The healing at the pool had a purpose for teaching. The blind man was healed for the Glory of God. Not many miracles in Jesus’ home town due to unbelief though.

[metmom]

I’m so sorry for all the loss you’ve endured especially packed into such a short time.

Words are just not enough.

[metmom]

You made your question generic. Not every prayer is equal. There are people that never go to church, have sin in their life,and certainly aren't baptized in the Spirit, asked to pray for people daily.

What a bunch of nonsense. GOD never put the requirement to be what Pentecostals call *baptized in the Holy Spirit* on a person to receive answers to prayer.

I'll tell you what. When it comes to people suffering and struggling, there's not more judgmental and condemning a group towards the afflicted as Pentecostals.

They are absolutely brutal towards the suffering and lack so much compassion. They just sit there and without knowing the other person's circumstances, have the situation all figured out and have no reservation about giving their opinion of something they know NOTHING about.

Pentecostals do NOT have a corner on the understanding God market.

Far from it.

And that is being demonstrated right here on this thread.

Nor are there grades of prayer.

Our prayer isn't effective because of the amount of faith we have, how big our faith is, but rather how big the God we have that faith in is.

That's why Jesus tells us that if we had even really tiny faith, the size of a mustard seed, we could move mountains.

Pentecostals have just about the most screwed up theology I have encountered.

People forget why God lifted the hedge he had around Job to allow Satan to ravage him. If you go to the end of the book, you find that Job had a pride problem. He left God out of the equation and decided he was good. he paid his tithe, lived out the Word of God, was pious in his walk, but in the end, God asked where was he when God set the boundaries of the land and oceans, ect.

And just where in Scripture does it tell us that the reason Job went through what he did was because of pride? Show us the chapter and verses.

Or is that simply another assumption made by you without any Scriptural support?

[Gamecock]

**People forget why God lifted the hedge he had around Job to allow Satan to ravage him.**

Job 1:1 In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil.

Job 1:8 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.”

I guess we need to get some white-out and delete these verses from the inspired Word of God.