Prayer is not an option for the follower of the LORD Jesus Christ. It is what oxygen is to us in the physical realm. A necessity!
It is the environment in which along with His Word we have our mind, attention turned and tuned to Him. It is the sphere in which we learn to communicate in dependence upon Him and worship Him in spirit and truth. Prayer and the Word of God are indispensible to the follower of Christ! Don’t cut off your spiritual supply of “oxygen” for your soul!
Prayer is not “something to do” but Some One to know and meet with! Some One to confide in.
Prayer came at great, great cost, the Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, which alone guarantees us access and audience with the Living God! Prayer-lessness is loveless-ness to God, as He commands we pray. Prayer-lessness, is pride! A manifestation of self-reliance, or also it can be we have believed the lie, such as, “God is not good and doesn’t care for us,” or that we have blown it so bad with Him, He wants nothing to do with us, so “why pray?” This particular lie attacks the character of God to you! At that stage we expose ourselves to the lie we had embraced that “our performance” is what makes us “acceptable to God” when it is only, exclusively through the finished work of the Living Lord Jesus Christ! We are “Accepted in the Beloved!.”-(Read Eph 1:6, Rom 5:2}.
While some would want to make prayer a “legalistic” issue, it is not, it’s a LOVE Issue. “He who has My commandments and keeps them, he is who LOVES Me.” {John 14:21}. Since prayer is a command, and with the new birth comes the ability to obey, as we choose to obey His command we are expressing love to Him! We do not love for acceptance but because we are accepted and have this new nature we choose to obey to express our appreciation and love to Him! Prayer is never to be a “performance,” but communication of our heart to the heart of God, who has proved His love to us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. It is amazing love, and His love draws and develops a heart of love in and through us to Himself and for others.
We love because He first loved us.
God So loved you, He sent His Son to pay the price for you, to rescue you, justify you, accept you and give you a new permanent standing in GRACE -{Rom 5:1-2.}. God’s Love for you comes with the PRIVILEGE to have His undivided attention! {1 Peter 3;12.} Prayer is a love issue! A love relationship between God and you!
- The alternative to prayer is to lose heart- ( Luke 18:1}
- Prayer is an antidote to anxiety ( Phil 4;6-7).
- Prayer includes us communing with God about “everything “-( Phil 4:6).
- Prayer Is for The Glory of God, His Kingdom, will, in the circumstance-{Matt 6:9-10}
- We are to “Pray without ceasing.” {1 Thess 5:17}
“Without ceasing,” – was used of a “Hacking cough” that regularly interrupted. So too with our prayers. There can be times specifically set aside, but here I want to encourage you with using your circumstances, people who come to mind, things that worry you, weigh you down to KNOW – for such a time as this you can use as a means to interject with talking to The Lord about it. You don’t have to wait or take a number or come back next week, or “clean your act up “before He can hear your case! Now is always HIS TIME for you ! You are greeted with His undivided loving attention. God is for you (read Rom 8:31-38)… So come pray without ceasing.
- Turn your troubles into prayer.
- Turn your thoughts of others into prayer.
- Turn the beauties you see into prayer.
- Turn the blessings you have in Christ into prayer.
- And in doing so you are ” praying without ceasing …”
- And in Doing so you are DOING THE WILL OF GOD,.”…IN CHRIST” – ( 1 Thess 5:17-18).
- Pray on!
You may be in a tough place and say, “I don’t know how to pray!” Do what the Psalmist did, and I have often done based on his cry,” HELP LORD…!” He in crying out made the LORD the focus of His cry… So we begin with Him …and that is an aspect of prayer. Talking to Him
Three verses of HOPE in “Praying without ceasing ...”
- – The LORD SPECIFICALLY – CARES FOR YOU
” casting ALL your cares upon Him BECAUSE HE CARES FOR YOU…”- (1 Peter 5:7) - – The LORD IS – LISTENING TO YOU!
” in my desperation I PRAYED, and THE LORD LISTENED..”- (Psalm 34:6) - – The LORD Is – HONORED by you when you call out to Him… ” Call on ME IN THE DAY OF TROUBLE , …. And YOU WILL GLORIFY ( honor ) Me”- ( Psalm 50:15)
Ask Him to remind you to pray without ceasing today, so you may turn your thoughts into prayers! And remember Prayer Is Ultimately a Love Issue!
Sending this with prayer that He may encourage you today.