Learning to Pray....

For the last several weeks, I have been reading and studying a book I received from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Ministry, written by Franklin Graham and Dr. Ross Rhoads. It is entitled, ALL FOR JESUS-A Devotional.

In my journey through this little book, I have gone down the road of  Service- God Can Use Anyone; climbed the mountains of Discipleship-The Basics and Discipleship- Beyond the Basic; crossed the plains of Assurance-The Certainties of Our Faith; and now find myself exploring the caves of Prayer- Access to the Heart of God...and that's where I would like to hang my hat for the next several days as I write about this wonderful expression that draws us closer to our Heavenly Father when we bow to pray.

The first question that might come to mind is what is Prayer...really? Most of us would say it is our desire to communicate with God so we can let Him know what's on our mind, what we need and oh yes, thank Him for His love and provision in answering our former prayers. All in all, that might, at least at face value, be a fair assessment of prayer for many believers. But for those who want a deeper and more satisfying relationship with Jesus, this barely scratches the surface. So my desire in my next few writings will be for us to take a closer look at PRAYER.

If we turn the word Prayer into an acronym, it might read as follows:

P....Personal...It is when we come to God, stripped of our self-righteousness, ready to bare our soul and hungering for His touch and feelings of closeness.

R...Removed...It is when we enter our sanctum, shut out the woes and worries of this world and concentrate on who God is and on our RELATIONSHIP with our Heavenly Father.

A...Assurance...When we pray, we find assurance in our relationship with God because our faith tells us that He is listening and waiting to know our heart for Him.

Y...Yearning... Bowing in humility when we pray expresses our yearning to be near Him, to be more like Him and to draw nearer to our Creator and our Savior as we seek His will for our life.

E...Energizing...When we pray, we leave the Throne Room of God, having left our cares, troubles and worries at the His Feet and we become energized and encouraged to be a servant, working diligently for the Master.

R...Relational...Our prayer life has a DIRECT EFFECT on who we are in Christ and how we either value or devalue what Christ did for us...and how his Spirit lives in and through us as a Child of the King!

Yes, outside of reading the Word of God on a daily basis, there is NOTHING more vital to the growth and maturity of our life in Christ than the time we spend in prayer with our GOD. When you think about it, our prayer really does nothing for God...it probably sounds a lot like a bunch of spoiled children whining about what the need; what they want or how if God would only do such and such, our lives would be so much better ...and thus, we would be more likely to follow and obey. Now, I don't know this to be true; however, I have seen in my own prayer life over the years that I tend to pray more when I need something from God or I want Him to fix something in my life that I can no longer control...Neither of these are relationship building ways to pray.

So...how do we access the heart of God through prayer?  Are there some "secrets" or "special words" that trigger the ears of God so that He will listen intently to our prayers? And how do we get God to answer our prayers and how boldly should we be praying anyway?

Come back over the next week or so and I will seek to share what I have learned through the pages of this little book and through my own life experiences that have had a profound effect on how and when I pray....I believe this little series can truly make a difference in your prayer life which may very well make a difference in your daily walk with God!

Praying for direction...Going where He leads,

WPQ

Poem for the day...

Oh, the power of prayer is

A wondrous, glorious thing.

It can set the captive heart free

Once again to sing.

It can lift the burdened soul up,

Though loaded down with care.

You must never underestimate

The mighty power of prayer.

For the Father has instructed

Those called by his name;

To put our faith and trust in Him,

His promises to claim.

We can carry our burdens to His throne

And prayerfully leave them there;

Our lives are changed, our burdens lifted

Through the power of our prayer.

So when life's storm clouds gather

And your heart is full of pain,

Just pray to the Father and like a gentle rain,

He'll wash away your anguish;

He'll vanish every care;

He'll grant your every heart's desire

Through the Power of your PRAYER!

W. Patrick Queen    Excerpt from "Bent….but not Broken"

Check out the Series

LEARNING TO PRAY

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