This blog was created to serve as an inspiration to all who read it..........to aspire, to love and to live a life of purpose.

Saturday, September 29, 2012

Prayer

The Dictionary describes prayer as 
devout petition to God or an object of worship; a spiritual communion with God or an object of worship, asin supplication, thanksgiving, adoration, or confession; the act or practice of praying  to God or an object of worship.
I grew up thinking prayer was a long ritual and had to be done once in the morning and once at night.  But what I found is that if I waited till the prescribed times only, I'd forget the little issue that tugged at my heart in the middle of the day. I found that, while a prayer should be said once in the morning and once in the night, my best prayers were said in the moment I felt it. 
  


I've heard numerous sermons on the power of prayer.  More so, I've personally experienced the power in effective prayer.

So, today I'm sharing some lessons I've learned (and still learning) about prayer...

First, there are no universal rules on how to say a prayer. A prayer can be said anytime, anywhere. Your prayer is "your" prayer....Its whats in your heart. I'm not an conventional-prayer type of girl. I pray at odd times in odd places...while I'm driving, while I'm in class or at work, while I'm walking, while I'm cooking. I pray whenever I feel it in my heart. I don't schedule prayer. I don't memorize prayer. I just pray, whenever, wherever, whatever tugs at my heart. 

Secondly, the true appreciation of prayer lies in what it does to you as a person and not to God. When we pray, what we do is open communication with God...so that to only can he hear us, we can hear Him too. The genuine communication, because it requires faith and trust in God, even when it doesn't bring immediate results, puts us in a better position to handle whatever we are dealing with. 
I believe in prayer.  It's the best way we have to draw strength from heaven.  ~Josephine Baker
We have to pray with our eyes on God, not on the difficulties.  ~Oswald Chambers
And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.” ~ Matthew 21:22 
Thirdly, pray without ceasing. Prayer is not meant to be said only on occasion when we need something to be done for us. Its human nature to automatically remember to pray when things are not going so well but then forget all about it after our request has been granted. We have to live prayer, even when we have everything we need. Prayer doesn't need to be a long list of requests...sometimes, all we need to say is thank you for the little things in life, especially when you don't know what else to say. 
Many people pray as if God were a big aspirin pill; they come only when they hurt. ~B. Graham Dienert
Fourth, make prayer your first resort, not your last resort. Most people, pray only when all things fails and expect God to make their request first priority. Pray first, then using the strength gained from trusting God to do everything else. 

Fifth, prayer has to be felt in the heart. You have to believe in the power of prayer. Your soul has to be on its knees...Sometimes, we pray to fulfill righteousness, without trully having faith. Sometimes, we pray, just so that if all else fails, it will hold. Prayer shouldn't be an item checked off on the to-do list. It should be the foundation of the to-do list. As a matter of fact, you don't always have to know how to say the prayer....sometimes, its better to let her heart do the speaking, instead of your tongue. 
Prayers not felt by us are seldom heard by God.  ~Philip Henry 
God can pick sense out of a confused prayer.  ~Richard Sibbes
Sixth, Like my pastor always says, when you pray, make sure your relationship is in good shape...Otherwise, your prayer will lack the needed connection with God. Some of the things that can block your prayer from reaching God's ears are sin, pride, wrong motives, lack of compassion, disregarding the scripture, and doubt. Here's a good blogpost on when prayer doesn't work.

Lastly, be prepared to accept whatever the answer is. In humility, realize that God's will for you surpasses all your wants. In fact, recently, God's 'no' to me has become one of the biggest blessings of my life. A good prayer requires submission to God's plan for you.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. ~Philippians 4:6-7 

Stay Inspired...

1 comment:

Unknown said...

am inspired, really did get confused about prayer, but i realized that times my prayer really got heard or answered is when i pray not out of routine but out of a need to communicate with God