Prayer is a necessity in a christian’s heart if we are to have a true authentic power spirit filled led relationship with Christ. I sense many things I try to take us from the very center of this truth. Could it be we are too busy throughout the day or other things take our attention? The enemy uses all kinds of distractions in our lives to keep us from this reality. Without prayer, we are and will continue to be what James describes in the bible and what is spoken in Ephesians.
Ephesians 414 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ
James 12 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. 6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.
The Lord is calling his bride to maturity and this comes with a life-long dialogue with the Lord. Should we spend hours on bended knee? I do not know how the Lord is calling you into this time of prayer and reflection but this I do know for sure. We need to talk with the Lord more than we talk with others. To practice his manifested presence in our daily lives takes discipline. In a place of intimacy we will find ourselves talking with Jesus while at the grocery store, motor vehicle, anywhere and everywhere. It is not enough to make that altar call of surrender and accept Christ in our hearts. It is not a one time decision. It is a pathway and the first footstep of many where we find we desire more of God and less of us. This only comes through relationship and relationship comes through prayer.
How are we to pray? Surely not as the Pharisees. Jesus brought this to our attention that although religious outwardly their hearts were not pure nor for the things of God. Our prayers do not need to be long or lengthy. Jesus taught us the perfect prayer in scripture. Simply, direct and acknowledging God for who he is. Our prayer language is beautiful as we are praying the heart of the Father in our lives and for others. Our talking with the Lord is another form of prayer. There is no right or wrong way of praying but what is wrong is when we do none of these. We can see biblical prophecies coming to pass when so many people and so many professing Christians believe anything and everything under the sun. These are the sign of the times which we now live. We will never grow beyond where we are now unless we grow our relationship with Jesus and allow the working of His spirit to mature us. Prayer is the very heart of God. Jesus is the Great Intercessor interceding for us before the Father. He prayed to the Father. Where are we in our walk? Another challenge for the day.
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