Paul encouraged the Thessalonians to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Prayer is our direct line of communication with God. He actually bends down His ear to hear our prayers (Psalm 116:2). The Bible gives us God’s general thoughts and directives for our life. Prayer gives us the specifics for our every day life. If the thoughts we “hear” in our prayers ever contradict the Word of God, these thoughts are not from God (Galatians 1:8; 2 Corinthians 11:4). We start every prayer with praise and thanksgiving for who He is and what He does for us; and then we pray for one another and for our own needs (Psalm 95:2, 66:17; Colossians 1:3; 1 Corinthians 1:4; Philippians 1:3-4; Acts 12:5).
Most
people never take the time to listen when they pray. They talk to God and give
Him a list of requests; but then they never take the time to persevere in
prayer or to listen to His still, small voice. They expect God to speak with
the magnitude of an earthquake or with the intensity of fire. God speaks with a still, small voice (Ephesians 6:18; 1 Kings 19:12). He will show us great and
mighty things, which we do not understand, if we will simply call on Him and
listen to His response (Jeremiah
33:3).
What we
commonly call, “The Lord’s Prayer” was not a specific prayer that Jesus prayed.
At the apostles’ request, He used these words to give them an example of how to
pray (Matthew 6:9-13). Jesus never intended for us to repeat these words as a prayer or as
some divine formula (Matthew 6:7-8). God always prefers that we pray in the Spirit,
with our own words and with confidence, rather than with vain
repetition (1 John 5:14-15; Matthew 6:7). God wants us to ask in faith, not
doubting His faithfulness, so we do not waver as the sea, when it is driven by the wind (James 1:6).
We are
not to pray with anxiety, but with thanksgiving, giving everything to God and
making all of our requests known to Him through prayer (Philippians 4:6). This way the peace of God, which rises far above
human understanding, will guard our soul through Christ (Philippians 4:7). We can call on God in our day of trouble and He will
deliver us. Then we can joyfully glorify and praise Him (Psalm 50:14-15). As we pray for victory, He will save us (Psalm 118:25).
We also
need to pray for the unsaved to call on the name of the Lord, so they will be
saved (Romans 10:1,13). We pray for the peace of
Jerusalem in Israel (Psalm 122:6). We pray for our Pastors (Romans 15:30; 2 Corinthians 1:11). We pray for our president and
all of those in high positions in our country, so we can live a quiet, peaceful, holy and honorable
life in every way (1 Timothy 2:1-2). We call for the elders of the
church and pray for the sick, anointing them with oil and praying for their
healing in the name of the Lord (James
5:13-14). We
pray because the prayers of righteous people have great power working through
them (James 5:16).
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, the people who
have Your unfathomable peace, are people of prayer. Remind us that the most
powerful position in our life is when we are on our knees. Help us to pray even
when we do not feel like it, because You encouraged us to pray without ceasing (1
Thessalonians 5:17). In our life of
prayer, keep us from grieving Your Spirit by sinning, so we will never lose our
fervor for You or our favor with You (Romans 12:11).
Thought
for the Day:
God
listens to the prayers of His righteous Saints and hears every word. - Psalm 66:19
