Tuesday, 2 Sept. 2014
PRAYER
AS A WAY OF LIFE
by
Sis. Cristy and Bro. Rolly Custodio
How can we learn to Love and Enjoy
to Pray without ceasing?
Rejoice
always; pray without ceasing; in
everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NASB)
TODAY’S DEVOTION
Prayer should not be
regarded as a duty which must be performed, but rather as a privilege to be
enjoyed, a rare delight that is always revealing some new beauty.
—E. M. Bounds
Falling
in love with the Father means falling in love with prayer. But learning to
love and enjoy to pray can be a different story.
Andrew
Murray wrote, “Answered prayer is the interchange of love between the Father
and his child.” We can’t have fulfilling earthly relationships without
love; the same is true about our prayer relationship with the Lord. The daily
discipline of prayer gives birth to love, joy and the more we love God, the
easier the daily discipline becomes.
I admit
I used to think prayer was boring. God’s taken me from “boring” to “roaring”
through His Spirit. He will do the same for you! You can learn to love and
enjoy prayer by taking baby steps.
Dispense
with the formalities and look at God again through the eyes of a child, with a
pure heart and confident faith.
Maybe
you grew up with a view of God as angry, violent, condemning, unapproving, or
judgmental. You may have been taught that the only way to pray is by repeating
memorized prayers that have little significance or relevance to your life.
Maybe your father or mother was abusive, and you struggle to see God as good,
loving, and kind.
If
so, pray, “Lord, I’ve grown up with a false or incomplete picture of who You
really are. Please help me see You as loving, righteous, and giving. Help me
become someone after Your own heart who reflects Your love and grace to my
children.”
How can we learn to
love and enjoy to pray?
Start
creating a new prayer habit today with just a few simple steps:
1. Find Your Prayer Closet
Early
believers often created “prayer closets” for themselves. Find a comfortable
chair, a desk or table, or another place (public or private) that you can
consider your “prayer closet”.
2.
Purchase a Journal
If you haven’t already, purchase a pretty journal or a steno notebook for
recording your prayer requests and praises.
3.
Make Yourself at Home
Pour yourself a cup of hot tea or coffee to enjoy as you sit down to read,
highlight, and pray through this chapter and the scriptures at the end of it.
4.
Pray & Memorize the Scriptures
If possible, also pray back through the scriptures at the end of every chapter
and begin memorizing them.
5.
Create Visual Reminders
You may also want to buy or make a plaque with phrases about prayer and put it in your “prayer spot” or a prominent place as a reminder. Me and my husband found a darling plaque a year ago that says, “Prayer changes things!” We put it in the Living Room so we can see it after we wake up in the morning because we pass through before we go to Kitchen.
My
Mother is an early bird Christian, so for her, morning is the best time to
pray. For me normally I pray morning, mid noon and at midnight. Jesus our role
model did at dawn watch or early morning. At Morning Prayer “rolls out the red
carpet” for God, setting a tone of praise and thanksgiving for the day. It
offers us a spiritual perspective that we can carry with us through the day and
enjoy our life. If we commune with God early in the morning and lay our burdens
on Him then, we will be free to enjoy each day unencumbered, soaring on wings
of freedom and joy.
I
also believe that we parents when our children see us praying early in the
morning, God will engrave on them that positive image on their minds and
hearts.
My
own mother (who had six children including me) waking up at 4:00AM every
morning to spend at least an hour praying for us and for anyone else who needed
it. She would faithfully pray for us and a lot of prayer requests she had. God
has shared to us that image in my memory even today. She’s the first convert
from Catholic to become born again Christian before all of us become Born Again
Christian, she consistently prays all of us and
all of us received the Lord and even until now she leads all of us in
prayer when we get to re-union.
When
our kids see us praying for them, they will sense our love. Our example will
warm their souls with a flame of peace and security. Ideally, it will also inspire
them to become people who love and enjoy to pray themselves.
Application
As
you become a Prayer Warrior, your relationship with God will blossom,
sweeten, and deepen. Your confidence will grow as you enter into His presence
more often and with more authority. How would you describe your current prayer
life today? Do you love to pray? What special details can you plan to make your
prayer time more enjoyable?
Do you receive the blessings
today?
Shall we pray?
Prayer for Today
Heavenly
Father thank you for your Word today. Lord thank you for making us realize that
in order to enjoy prayer we must learn to love it. Lord empowers me to to have
a consistent prayer habit so that I am ready for every day battles in life.
Lord teaches me to love and enjoy to pray without ceasing so that I can be a
powerful servants as we serve you for your glory, In Jesus name! Amen!
Prayer for Salvation
Lord
I admit I am a sinner I repent of all my sins and I receive you into my heart
as my personal Lord and Savior Amen. If you mean that prayer above from the
bottom of your heart you are now saved. It is God’s Word that He promise in
John 3:16 that if you trust His Son Jesus you will not die but you will have
Eternal Life. Welcome to the family of God. In order to grow in your faith with
God please do these consistently starting today; 1. Pray always 2. Read your
Bible Daily 3. Attend Church Services Regularly 4. Attend Prayer Meeting and
Bible Study and serve God first place in your life, in your talent and in your
finances 5. Witness Jesus to others that they may receive salvation too.
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