TOPIC 7:
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Imagine a small peasant boy from an obscure
village who grows up working in the fields by
the sweat of his brow.
He has virtually nothing in terms of
material wealth and no social standing to speak
of.
Nevertheless a royal carriage comes riding up to
the village one day with an envelope engraved
with the king's seal.
Inside the envelope is an invitation for
this peasant boy to come to the palace of the
king, to dine with him, and to spend the
afternoon walking the palace grounds and talking
with the king.
Who could have imagined that such an
insignificant peasant boy would have been
granted such a high honor?
In some ways this make-believe story reflects a
very real spiritual truth.
The Lord God is eternal.
He is the Creator of every natural thing
we know in our universe, from the distant
galaxies to the most minute microscopic
creature.
He is infinitely wise and utterly more
intelligent than we are.
Yet He has invited us to come into His
royal presence that we might have the high honor
of conversing with Him.
We might wish to excuse ourselves from prayer,
thinking that God must surely be too busy to
have time to
hear our feeble murmurings.
Yet He is not too busy to hear our
prayers.
There are many reasons why prayer is
important to God.
First and foremost, prayer brings glory
to God.
When we pray, we (in effect) kneel before
Him in humility, acknowledging Him as Lord.
Second, when we pray we demonstrate our
dependency upon God.
We were not meant to be self-sufficient
automatons.
We were created to be completely
dependent upon the Lord.
Since the topic of prayer is one of the most
extensive subjects in the Bible, we cannot
possibly cover everything there is to know about
prayer in this short space.
Yet here are four key lessons to help you
get started in becoming a person of prayer.
First, remember that prayer is a
conversation between you and God, and you do not
have to worry about how you say things.
God is far more interested in the
attitude of your heart than He is with the words
you use.
He is not entertained by a memorized
prayer or in you using meaningless repetition.
In Matthew 6:5-6 Jesus taught, "When you
pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites [the
Jewish religious leaders]; for they love to
stand and pray in the synagogues and on the
street corners so that they may be seen by men.
Truly I say to you, they have their
reward in full.
But you, when you pray, go into your
inner room, close your door and pray to your
Father who is in secret, and your Father who
sees what is done in secret will reward you."
Second, pray in faith.
Doubting is not the way to gain God's
approval or move Him to act.
In Mark 11:24 Jesus said, "Therefore I
say to you, all things for which you pray and
ask, believe that you have received them, and
they will be granted you."
God is pleased when we look to Him with
eyes of faith, believing that nothing is too
difficult for Him!
Third, we cannot come before God expecting His
forgiveness, if we have an unforgiving spirit
toward another person.
In Mark 11:25 Jesus explained, "Whenever
you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything
against anyone, so that your Father who is in
heaven will also forgive you your
transgressions."
This reminds us that prayer is not
automatic; some heart preparation is necessary
before we come asking God to hear our requests.
Fourth, prayer is the alternative to being
consumed by anxiety and the way to having inner
peace.
In Philippians 3:6-7 we read, "Be anxious
for nothing, but in everything by prayer and
supplication with thanksgiving let your requests
be made known to God.
And the peace of God, which surpasses all
comprehension, will guard your hearts and your
minds in Christ Jesus."
Now that we have discussed a few of the
important lessons regarding prayer, let us
consider a model for how we can approach God in
prayer.
Rather than rudely darting into the
King's presence, we should enter in humble
recognition of who He is.
Many believers have found the following
acronym helpful:
ACTS.
A
-
Adoration
The Lord God is not a big genie in the sky, as
though we only turn to Him to get something
we want.
Therefore it is appropriate when
approaching the Lord in prayer to first "adore"
Him.
We do this by praising Him for who He is.
For example, we can praise Him that He is
always faithful, or that His love for us is
always unconditional.
Next, we should take time to "confess"
any known sins in our life.
We must remember that we are coming
before a God who is perfectly holy.
Psalm 66:18 declares, "If I regard
wickedness in my heart, the Lord will not hear."
Then we should take time to "thank" God
for things He has done.
This could be in regard to our own life,
but also in regard to our nation, our church, or
anyone we know.
Having a thankful spirit is pleasing to
the Lord.
Finally, we can "supplicate" God, that
is, ask Him for things we would like to see
happen or for help that we need.
Although we can certainly ask for things
we want or need, we should remember to ask Him
for things we would like to see Him do for the
sake of His kingdom.
Take time to pray often.
Have a set time for prayer each day, but
also stand ready to pray at any time throughout
the day.
The Lord loves to hear your voice!
"The prayer of the upright is His
delight" (Proverbs 15:8). |