Resource KJV Holy Bible/ The Expositor’s Study Bible/ Concordance/ Jimmy Swaggart/ PG 2432
Your Prayer Life
From the moment you accepted Christ as your Saviour, your life has been changed. You have experienced a joy and peace which the cares of the world cannot take away. This ‘blessed assurance” was given to you as a free gift from God. Without doubt, you feel the compulsion to thank Him for what he has done for you. It is completely fitting that you should feel this way.
In order to properly thank Him, which we should do constantly, we must develop a daily prayer life – exactly as we develop a daily time of the Bible Study.
Prayer is communication with God. It is for the following:
1.) Praise – As stated, we should praise the Lord, which means to thank Him for what He has done for us. The more we live for the Lord, the more we will realize the worth of our Salvation, and the more we will want to thank Him for that.
2.) Communion – Prayer is one of the greatest ways to communicate with God. What a blessing to be able to talk directly to your Heavenly Father. As well, during times of prayer the Lord will also speak to your heart, giving you leading and direction.
3.) Petition – We are admonished to ask the Lord for the things that we need. He, as our Heavenly Father, desires to do good things for us. However, we must remember that it is His Wil which we seek, and not our personal will. Consequently, all the things we ask Him for, and we should readily ask Him for whatever it is we need, should always be done with the idea in mind, that we want His Will and not ours.
Resource Openbible.info
Philippians 4:6 ESV
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 ESV
Pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
Jeremiah 29:12 ESV
Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you.
Psalm 145:18 ESV
The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.
1 John 5:14 ESV
And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.
Scriptures Jesus praying (Resource Openbible.info
Matthew 14:23 ESV
And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone,
Mark 1:35 ESV
And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.
John 11:41-42 ESV
So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.”
Resource KJV Holy Bible/ The Expositor’s Study Bible/ Concordance/ Jimmy Swaggart/
Jesus Teaching On Prayer – Matthew 6:5-8
5 – And when you pray (the necessity of prayer), you shall not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the Synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men (they do it for show). Verily I say unto you, They have their reward (meaning that there will be no reward from God in any capacity).
6 – But you (sincere Believer), when you pray, enter into your closet, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father which is in secret; and your Father which sees in secret shall reward you openly (the word “closet” is not to be taken literally, but means that our praying must not be done for show; if we make God’s interest our own, we are assured that He will make our interest His Own).
7 – But when you pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do (repeating certain phrases over and over, even hundreds of times): for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking (they will not be heard by God).
8 – Be not you therefore like unto them: for you Father (Heavenly Father) knows what things you need of, before you ask Him (He is omniscient, meaning that He knows all things, past, present, and future).
When I think of prayer life I have lacked in this and recently found how important it is praying and taking the time to talk with our Heavenly Father. I tend to study and listen to music and sermons and pray yes but where I can’t say its a great prayer life. I was missing taking time and really talking with God and actually hearing Him and what he has to say for my life and direction He has for me. I know for a fact anything I face in life I want to take to Him first and get direction from the one I trust and who knows all things and wants the best for me. In doing this I need and will from here on out take daily that time that is so vitally important in my journey with walking with the Lord is stop and listen for His direction and clarity for my life. Sometimes we get so busy trying to rush to fix our problems we want it now in a hurry and it ends up we are going about it the hard way and with heaviness that if you stop and pray about it and get quiet and listen for His voice He will give you direction and the grace mercy needed to go through whatever it may be. I have also learned sometimes you may not hear Him at that exact time in prayer but you still go trusting in Him and then something happens where you know that He heard you and your faith and relationship with Him grows to a deeper connection. I’m learning that there is no greater relationship than with the Lord. I want to take whatever lies in my heart and give it to Him and trust He will guide me. I shared scriptures on how Jesus prayed all the time and if He did we should to! We want to be just like Jesus and although we will never be perfect we should run after to be like Him. Praying is something He did and we should as well! I know we find ourselves wanting to talk to others and vent it out which is fine but if your not taking it to Him your missing out. Don’t you want to take it to the one who can actually change the circumstances and at the same time transform your mind for good and strengthen you. I encourage you to start talking to Him today there is no wrong way how to do this remember He loves you and knows all of you He cares for you and is waiting for you to call upon Him. Just talk to Him see how it will change your life. I always leave you with what do you have to lose but to gain!