P.R.A.Y.
First
of six devotions in Let’s Talk series
1
Thessalonians 5:16-18: “Be joyful
always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s
will for you in Christ Jesus.”
Believers argue that prayer is not a means to control God;
rather it opens up hearts for God to control us. Reverent and yielding is believers' approach. We know that we’re welcome into God’s throne
room. (Hebrews 4:16). What a privilege! Our heavenly Father’s door stands open. He is eager for His kids to pile up on his
lap, pouring out our hearts to Him.
We
learned that Jesus ascended into heaven after his resurrection, and is at the
Father’s right hand, ready to intercede for us now. Believers have confidence to approach God
anywhere, anytime. Jesus lifts up
prayers—uttered from our lips or spoken silently inside our hearts—and delivers
our petitions appropriately to our Father.
(Hebrews 7:25-26).
When
we don’t have the words, the Holy Spirit groans on our behalf. He knows both our hearts and God’s will. We wait patiently, confident that our Father
is working out everything to our good.
(Hebrews 8:26-28). Cooperating
with Holy Spirit’s leading, believers grow to understand God’s mind more as we
mature into Christlikeness.
When God’s kids
invite Him into our everyday lives, we can purposely remain in constant
conversation with Him.
We’re
to pray everywhere we go, with every breath we take. Here is an easy acronym to remember:
PRAY. Are you thankful? Praise. What was that fleeting sinful thought? Repent. What do you want? Ask. Whose will be done? Yield.
Speak
clearly. Be specific. Go into detail. That’s how much God loves you. Check this out: Twelve year old Cassie is troubled when
overhearing classmates at lunch. She
hears, “Here’s my cool cheat sheet. I
can hide it when taking the biology test Friday.”
She
prays silently on-the-spot: “Thank You, Father, for friends and cool school to
attend. Forgive our wrong actions. Encourage us to study instead of cheating at
tests. Lead us to live according to Your
will, Lord.”
Most
prayers concern family and friends. Next
often, people ask for help with our own problems. Believe it or not, the next most-often prayer
requests are for our enemies. Silly,
seemingly trivial prayers are least offered up to God.
But, believers
are also selective about for whom we pray!
If we were truly open to His Spirit, our opinions about people should
not matter. God is fair and just to all.
Take
Home Nugget
Maybe
we ask God for a better understanding of prayer. Maybe we can choose to make time for prayer a
top priority in our lives.
Holy
Father, teach me to keep You in the forefront of my thoughts throughout each
day. May prayer become my priority, in
Jesus’ name, amen.
This devotion is adapted from Pray Powerfully, aired in October 2015
from Ed Young Television Devotional. It
can be found under the topic “Prayer” in www.oneplace.com/devotionals.
J.D. Griffith
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