If you were raised in a Christian home like me you were taught to prayer, read your Bible and go to Church. Three very basic and simple things right. These are things that should not be too difficult to accomplish everyday, well at least praying and reading your Bible anyway. The way life is set up, sometimes these things become neglected, and are seldom apart of our daily routines. Spiritual disciplines can make a big impact on the way we live our lives and they can even affect the impact that we have on the people around us. This week I'm going to start a series on the spiritual disciplines, what they are, how to do them, and the impact they can have on each of our lives. Today I want to talk about prayer, even if you're not a Christian or a religious person, I'm sure you've heard of it. Prayer from the christian perspective and at it's basic level is communication with God.
Prayer is vital to the spiritual growth of every Christian. It is in prayer that we communicate with God and get instruction, direction in guidance in our everyday lives. It is also a tool to be used as we operate in our spiritual gifts. Without prayer we will be less effective in our Christian walk and especially when ministering to others. Its vital that we are intentional about cultivating a healthy prayer life. In order to be effective we need to make a consistent effort to spend time in prayer on a daily basis. If you haven't already let me give you some practical advice on how to get started. 1. Find a quiet place- Its important that we find a private space where we will not be distracted. Turn your phone off and remove anything that will steal your attention away from God. Treat it like your going on a date with someone you love. Set the atmosphere so that it is conducive to the God that you love so much. 2. Sit in silence for a few moments- Before you begin to pray it's good to sit in silence and clear you're head. I suggest you sit silently for 20 minutes to let all your thoughts clear out. Our minds are use to thoughts going through our heads 24/7. It's important that we clear our heads so that we can hear God clearly. 3. Seek God with all your heart- It's important when we spend time with God we give Him everything we are. We should be open and honest. We can share with Him our hurts our struggles, are deepest secrets and most importantly our sins. There is nothing that we should be afraid to bring before Him in prayer. Scriptures says that we will seek Him and find Him if we search for Him with all our hearts (Jeremiah 29: 13 NKJV). 4. Listen for God's response- Prayer is communication, think dialogue not monologue. Many times when we have a prayer time or quiet time, whatever you prefer to call it, we offload all our junk, we make a few requests, and then we get up and walk a way. How would you feel if that's how someone communicated with you? We do this with God often. It's important that after we have opened our hearts to God in prayer that we wait for His response. I suggest you have a pen and paper or a journal to write down what God tells you in prayer so that you always have it to return to when your applying His instructions to your life. Listen God desires intimacy with us. If we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us. How much more joyful would life be if we walked in lock step with the Creator Himself? I want to encourage you to start today, don't wait. Take some time today to take your intimacy with God to the next level through prayer. God Bless & Choose Life.
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AuthorHusband, Father, Red-Letter Christian, Preacher of the Gospel. Archives
June 2021
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