PRAYER
In a general sense, the act of asking for a favor, and particularly with earnestness.
In worship, a solemn address to the Supreme Being, consisting of adoration, or an expression of our sense of God's glorious perfections, confession of our sins, supplication for mercy and forgiveness, intercession for blessings on others, and thanksgiving, or an expression of gratitude to God for his mercies and benefits. A prayer however may consist of a single petition, and it may be extemporaneous, written or printed.
We all know we should. We all know it works. But who has the Time?
Jesus shows us a pattern for making Prayer a Priority again.
And when he had sent the multitudes Away, he went up into a mountain Apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there Alone. ~Matthew 14:23
Away… Sometimes we have to send things, appointments, hobbies, and demands on our time and yes even people away. Many of these “Things” will seem urgent, legitimate and important. All clamoring for our time and attention. But you see His work did not control Him; he controlled His work. His “To-Do” list included saving the whole world! But He still saw the Necessity of Prioritizing His prayer life.
Apart… Somehow or another we must get Apart from this world and connect with our Father who is not of this world. We need to get Apart from the sin, the silliness, the selfishness of the Now and focus on the Eternal.
Alone… I know there are times we can and must pray with others, but I remind you that when Jesus gave encouragement and instruction to pray He said get Alone in private behind a closed door and get Alone with God.
Remember: A Lot Of Kneeling Will Keep You In Good Standing.
Deb & I are Praying For You, so you Pray for US!
See you in Church.
Great Bible Study Attached: “Improving Your Praying.”
Also Three Fabulous books on Praying and knowing the Names of God listed below.
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12 comments:
Thank you PM....funny I went to the Selah and was taken by it....I love to pray....I need to pray....I get my strength from prayer...tapping into
God's Power....I need it so much. So I went to blog out and well here we are, Prayer.
The bible study on prayer was great. Thank you. Do you ever add to your own blog??? Comment on our comments??? Can you give it a shot???
I was studying 1 Corinthians 14: 10-25. I come from a Church of Christ background....I'm sure you know the views there on speaking in tongues and manifestations of the spirit....they believe they had their time and place in the past....but I want to know more about praying in the Spirit....speaking in the Spirit...singing in the Spirit
1Cor 14:15 Well then, what shall I do? I will pray in the spirit,and I will also pray in words I understand. I will sing in the spirit, and I will also sing in words I understand.
Can you point me in the right direction? I desperately need to be closer to God in my prayers.
I would love to hear from any of my New Life family....Hey Willie what say ye...Shane....Andy..Lorna...Mary D....Thank you.
Psalm 17:6-7
6 I am praying to you because I know you will answer, O God. Bend down and listen as I pray.
7 Show me your unfailing love in wonderful ways. By your mighty power you rescue those who seek refuge from their enemies.
\o/ \o/ \o/ in Jesus Name, Amen
As always a great blog!!! I believe that prayer is the most important discipline and also the hardest one to master,if indeed we ever do. The importance of prayer cannot be emphasized enough. My problem is "the wandering mind syndrome". Sometimes I think my attention span is that of a gnat. I set time aside each day to be alone with Jesus. Inevitably the cares and concerns of my life find a way to "jam the connection". Thanks for the bible study on prayer and also the books you referenced. Hopefully at some point I'll be alble to "dwell in the secret place of the most high and totally abide under the shadow of the almighty". Shutting out all concerns about "ME" and listen to what God has to say.
Man, why is this so hard to do. Be honest you know what I am talking about. We all sing in church "God your all I need", and yet most of us are so consumed with our careers, making more money, where we live and what kind of car we drive. God, help me to be more focused on prayer and the plan you have for my life.
Thanks again it is just what I needed this week!
Michael Martini
WOW...AWESOME BIBLE STUDY!
my eyes have been opened. Thank you for the reminder of Who God is and for the "persons" He can be in my life!
Nichole T.
Prayer in the Spirit - a response to Bob Arnzen's comment.
I remember when I first came to New Life and wanted so much to have this gift of tongues so that I too could pray in the Spirit. It was only when I abandoned my self, my own awareness of me, my consiousness of my body and only concentrated on worshipping my God and asking Him to fill me with His Holiness that He did. It was total trust, it was total abandon, knowing that my Lord would not do harm. Now the tongues flow each time I abandon my self and focus on Him. Be prepared for lots of tears!
Making prayer a priority and compassion is so needed in my life and in the church as a whole.
Recently, I've been listening to the Kendrick Twins' song "Mama's Prayers". It's not necessarily my normal genre of music but it is powerful. It has renewed my compassion when praying for my prodigal. Google it - and listen carefully to the message about being a praying mother. Pastor Mark, you might want to use it in your yearly Mother's Day message - just a thought.
Lord, I pray that I may become more of a Prayer Warrior. Holy Spirit ignite in my spirit your compassion for the loss. I love you, Lord and desire to know You more and share You with others more. In Jesus Name, Amen.
Thank you, Pastor Mark for your dedication and hard work in bringing us daily blessing through Selah and more indepth studies through your blog.
Grinder, wow--- you have an even bigger attention span than mine!!! :) I try and try to focus, on reading I just wonder around my head finding new things to ponder about. I pray all of the time, but they are not structured. I dont know how to overcome this, but I need to figure it out. I swear I have A D D. I do know that even with the unfocused prayers God has always heard me and has done so much for me. I have gone through a long and hard journey to be where I am today. I have a ways to go still, but I would have never made it this far without him. I know he is there and I know he hears us, but it still amazes me when I think back of the miracles in my life!! My biggest prayer now is to have my husband join me. As they say a family that prays together, stays together. Thank you jesus for all that I have and all that I am. Amen....Thanks to him and New Life I am a new person.
Awesome blog PM. Thank you for the encouragement and the challenge. It made me stop and think about all the things that "seem" important on a daily basis and then all of a sudden I thought "Wow!", I need to start thinking that to miss time with God would be missing my MOST IMPORTANT meeting of the day. I think it sounds better in my head. lol
Love the blogs and the Bible studies; please keep them coming! Also, sadly, I just finished the Bible study on Love from a couple of weeks ago and just wanted to say that it was excellent and I am trying to put some of the things into practice... :)
-Christine E.
Bob, I am honored that you would even mention me... I am nothing more than just another sheep. :) MUCH of what I have learned has been here at New Life, for over 23 years, now! \o/
I have found that listening to truly Christ-Centered music helps me draw (and stay) nearer to God. (Music like we sing at church.) It also helps me focus more clearly in my prayer times... but that's me.
God has given us (New Life) excellent shepherds, to whom God has entrusted our care. I would encourage you to make an appointment to talk to Pastor Evans or to Pastor Mark. :)
It is obvious by their examples, that they are Godly men of prayer. How else can they teach and lead us so well? (This recent Bible Study on Prayer being yet another excellent example of God's gifting upon them! Read it again and pray over it as you read.)
New Life also offers a teaching course for new Believers that will definitely bless you and answer many of your questions. :) "Foundations of Faith" it's called. You should ask about it. :)
Grinder - Pastor Mac used to call that Stinkin' Thinkin' and it afflicts all of us from time-to-time. Excellent post!
Anon #2 - Even when our prayers are "unfocused", God knows our hearts! The Scripture tells us that He knows our thoughts "afar off".
PSA 139:2 "Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off." (Read the whole 139'th Psalm!) \o/
He also knows our needs, even before we ask. \o/ AMEN!
When things get crazy and all we can do is focus on Him for 30 seconds... then do it for 30 seconds! :) Maybe 5 minutes later, after the present thought-distraction passes, you can focus on Him again for 30 seconds... and so on! :) This is pretty much how I focus upon Him while at my job. "Here a little, there a little".
ISA 28:10 "For precept [must be] upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, [and] there a little:"
It does "add up". :) Even just TEN seconds in HIS presence has brought "waves" of peace over me! \o/
God bless! :)
Willie...
Thanks Pastor Mark for these wonderful bible study/guides. I enjoy them so much and continue to grow with the Lord because of them. My prayer life is a daily one. It comes so natural to me. I don't even think I'm doing it sometimes. (I never feel I do it as a ritual either) I start in the morning when I wake up and thank HIM for another day. I thank HIM for keeping my husband safe from his work from the night before. Having breakfast, I thank the Lord for the food. I bring the kids to the bus stop and bless them (lay my hands on their heads) before they leave and ask God to keep them safe. I can't find something in the house, I ask the Lord to help me remember where I might of placed it. I'm always talking to my best friend throughout the day! So sometimes prayer doesn't have to be this one time deal that you do in the beginning of the day or end of the day. I do that too, but for the most part, I'm praying all the time. I pray right before my son's basketball games and ask the Lord to keep everyone from getting hurt. I'd be lying if I didn't ask HIM to help our team win too (smile). But I always thank HIM afterwards for answering or for not answering my prayers. I know it's HIS will and timing not mine. Having the dialogue all day long for me keeps me be close to HIM and keeps me safe from any challenging things that might be thrown my way. I know the Lord is close all the time.
Hey Willie, thanks for your insight and heartfelt thoughts....UR the real deal man....the real deal...an encourager!
Thanks Anonymous person you!...for your thoughts on praying in the spirit....whewwww, I really want God and His Spirit to invade my life, my soul and my sprit. I need Him so much all the time....I want His presence around me at all times.... I want that God/Spirit consciousness we spoke of a few weeks ago, all the time. PM gave me a few books on the subject of the Spirit I need to digest....a part of my new diet.
Thank you for remembering PM.....
Hey Mike Martini, I know what ur sayin.....I know what it is to focus so much on those material things to the point they become idols in our lives........Matthew 6:20-22, 20 Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. 21 Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be. 22 “Your eye is a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is good, your whole body is filled with light".
Hey Linda…AMEN !! I need to be in constant communiqué with our Father……I find myself asking for His wisdom, power and influence throughout the day. Sometimes I feel bad for asking for His help so much. I want to praise Him as much as I ask for His help, guidance and presence in my life.
Psalm 20:4-5
4 May he grant your heart’s desires and make all your plans succeed.
5 May we shout for joy when we hear of your victory and raise a victory banner in the name of our God. May the LORD answer all your prayers.
Psalm 63:3-5
3 Your unfailing love is better than life itself; how I praise you!
4 I will praise you as long as I live, lifting up my hands to you in prayer.
5 You satisfy me more than the richest feast. I will praise you with songs of joy.
\o/ \o/ \o/ \o/ \o/ \o/ \o/ \o/\o/ \o/ \o/ \o/ \o/ \o/ \o/\o/ \o/ \o/ \o/ \o/ \o/ \o/ \o/ \o/ \o/ \o/\o/
In Jesus name……Amen
Hey Jeannine, you prayer warrior you!!! Thanks for the soup
I was thinking just today about how I want to be more of a witness...the story PM told on Sunday about the old Italian guy on the construction site....I'm the Norwegian guy, but I am not as diligent as he......
Father help me to be more open about my faith.....bring those across my path that want to know You, that I might be a tool for your praise and glory, and a messenger of Hope when it’s needed most. Forgive me when I fail to do so…..in Jesus name.
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