 At its' core prayer is a conversation between you and God. We converse often and intimately with those we are close to or desire to be close to. Prayer should be more than a rundown of our latest needs or desires. It should be about developing intimacy. Intimacy is the result of give and take, sharing, listening, sitting with, thinking about, being present with the one with whom you seek intimacy. Does this describe our prayer lives? If not, make some changes that allow you to develop greater intimacy.
"Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving..." Colossians 4:2 (NASB) Devote yourself to prayer, sit with the Lord, listen, be fully present in those moments. Be encouraged and keep moving forward.
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 30 Days of Prayer - Day #28
"Immediately the boy’s father cried out and said, “I do believe; help my unbelief!” Mark 9:24 (NASB) That's honesty. That's real. Thankfully God is big enough to handle our unbelief and our moments of doubt. It's an interesting prayer that many of us could benefit from learning to pray more. "God, help my unbelief." Be encouraged and keep moving forward.  I've often been asked, "Why does it feel as though God isn't answering my prayers?" This is a common question for the bold and an even more common question for the meek who would never voice it but often think it in their hearts. So what's the answer, "Why does it feel as though God sometimes isn't answering our prayers?"
The simple answer is, "Sometimes He doesn't answer our prayers." At least not in the way we had hoped He would. I heard someone once say that God always answers our prayers with either a "Yes", "No" or "Wait". I think it's the variety of potential answers that causes us to feel as though He's not answering at all. When we long for a "Yes" and the answer is "No" we assume He's not answering at all. When we secretly hope for a "No" and the answer is a resounding "Yes" we suddenly become hard of hearing and convince ourselves that He's not answering. God hears our prayers and I believe He always answers we just need to fine tune our discernment and perhaps learn to demonstrate patience when the answer is "Wait", courage when the answer is "Yes" and trust when the answer is "No". Be encouraged and keep moving forward.  "If you remain in Me, and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you." John 15:7 (NASB)
This is a powerful verse in that it reminds us that we are required to have some skin in the game when it comes to prayer. We're not talking about a merit system or pay to play but according to this passage God requires that we abide in Him if we desire to have our prayers answered. Our abiding in Christ doesn't guarantee the answer we want but when we stop abiding we're in essence asking God to continue being faithful while we choose unfaithfulness. Is He capable of doing that? Of course He is but that's not how He designed our relationship with Him to function. Stop being unfaithful and start abiding. Be encouraged and keep moving forward.  It's old school and likely been around the block more than a few times but it's stood the test of time and I've found it to be a helpful tool for many years. Too often we struggle to spend significant time in prayer simply because we've never come up with a strategy by which to do so. Allow me to suggest the CHAT method.
Confession - Psalm 66:18 says, "If I regard wickedness in my heart, the Lord will not hear..." but thankfully, 1 John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous, so that He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Setting our conversation with God up for success begins with confession. Asking God to reveal any sin in our lives that we may have not even seen or recognized as a sin. Honor - Honoring God is all about giving God the praise that is due Him. It's not about reminding God of who He is, He already knows who He is. When we bring honor to God it's more about reminding us of who God is, that He is God and we are not. We honor God when we tell Him that He is worthy, awesome, all powerful, omniscient, omnipotent, etc. Ask - Hebrews 4:16 (NASB) says, "Therefore let’s approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace for help at the time of our need." This is the part of our prayer lives that we likely don't struggle with. It's here that we bring our requests to God for His intervention, guidance, direction and strength. As with when we bring honor, God is already more than aware of our struggles and needs. We bring our requests not as new information but as an opportunity to create more intimacy with Him. As we bring our requests and the intimacy increases we learn to more clearly distinguish His voice and as a result we more easily yield to His guidance. Thanksgiving - Thanksgiving is an opportunity for us to give thanks for the many blessings that God has given us. We can pretty quickly forget the many ways we've been blessed and the ultimate source of those blessings when we skip over this step. Bringing thanks to God on a regular basis keeps us focused on what matters and humbled by what we have. If you're struggling to deepen your prayer life this is an easy tool by which to start the process. Be encouraged and keep moving forward. "Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting." Psalm 107:1 (NASB) In the midst of a world full of negativity and darkness it's pretty easy to forget about all of the blessings that God gives to us each day. His lovingkindness towards you and I as fallen people is by far the greatest of the blessings He provides but even beyond that there are countless other blessings He pours onto our lives each and every day. He gives us life, relationships, the ability to think and move about as we please. Carve out time as you pray to thank Him for every blessing He's given you. We can quickly lose sight of the many blessings He gives us when we waste our time comparing our blessings to the blessings of others. Keep focused on how God has chosen to bless you and seek His guidance on how to use that blessing to further bless those around you. Be encouraged and keep moving forward.  "Father God I thank you for each member of my family. God I ask that you would bless them and allow them to be a blessing to you. God I pray that you would protect them, guide them, shelter them and shield them from anything or anyone that would seek to bring them harm. I pray that you would give my wife peace and comfort as she navigates the sometimes choppy waters of raising two sons. I pray that I would be a help to her as she seeks to serve as my helpmate and mother to my sons. I pray that you would give her the desires of her heart. Remind her of the value that she possesses as one of your daughters. May she feel loved, appreciated and cared for by me and the boys. I pray for my sons that you would guard their hearts and protect them from the attack of the enemy. I pray that they would seek you with all of their hearts, souls and minds. Bless them with relationships that bring you glory. Give me insight and knowledge beyond my years and beyond my experience to know how to shepherd them. Give them boldness to chase after You and to serve You all the days of their lives. Give me rest Father. Give me direction. I love you. Amen."
Be encouraged and keep moving forward.  "Give us this day our daily bread."
Matthew 6:11 (NASB) If you're anything like me (be thankful if you're not) then you can sometimes focus too much on not what's happening today but what's coming down the road. As a planner, I enjoy mapping things out, getting stuff scheduled on my calendar and thinking through what's needed to make those things a reality. As a result, I can pinpoint a future date on my calendar and live with a sense of dread as the date approaches if that date, event, appointment, etc. is something I'm nervous or anxious about. I'm reminded this morning that what's coming down the road shouldn't be looming in my mind. What I should be focused on is how God has provided for me today, and if He's provided for me today then why wouldn't He provide for me on that day as well. Thankfully God's mercies are new every morning. Be encouraged and keep moving forward. “Pray, then, in this way:
‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. ‘Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven." Matthew 6:9-10 (NASB) This of course is the beginning of what's commonly known as the Lord's prayer. In its' simplest form it's really Jesus' teaching and reminding us that we should value what God values. "Our Father" = "Dear God," "Hallowed be Your name" = "You're awesome" "Your kingdom come" = "I want to want what you want" "Your will be done" = "In every area and in every way" "On earth as it is in heaven" = "Rule in my life like you rule in Heaven" It's about value. Do you value God, not just with your lips but with your lifestyle, your choices, your attitude, your responses? Be encouraged and keep moving forward. "Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much." James 5:16 (NASB)
Confession to God in the name of Jesus brings forgiveness but according to James 5:16 confession to one another can help bring about healing. James says that there is power in the prayer of a righteous man. We need to learn to become comfortable in sharing our short-comings with one another. Women: find other sisters in Christ to confide in (not gossip) and share your struggles. Men: secure some other brothers whom you can confess to (not just shoot the breeze) and receive encouragement from. We are not alone. God hears our prayers but perhaps others should as well. Be encouraged and keep moving forward. |