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God’s Call       to Prayer

One of the most beautiful gifts our Lord gave us it the gift of language.  Language is not just a means for us to communicate with each other, but to express ourselves through prayer to our Creator.

Praying is a highly personal practice and each one of us has his or her own way to speak with God.  You don’t have to be eloquent or know all the “church” words to pray.  God knows your heart, after all He created you!

If God knows me, why do I need to pray? 

Prayer, along with reading scripture is your personal connection to God.  Through prayer, you are expressing your praises, thanks, fears and needs to the One who will listen and answer.  You can pray anywhere and everywhere, any time and all the time as it is stated in 1 Thessalonians 5:17-19  “Rejoice always;  pray without ceasing;  in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 

Your prayers might be long or short, kneeling at a church altar or standing in a grocery store line.  They can be audible or in your thoughts.  The important thing is to acknowledge God as your Lord and King and to have a repenting and humble heart.  Scripture makes it quite clear:  “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place.”  2 Chronicles 7:14-15

Prayer for yourself

We often find ourselves worried or fearful about health, finances, relationships, careers and so on.  We turn to God to bring us relief.  But unless we are seeking the will of God, we cannot know that “in all things God works for the good of those who love him who have been called according to his purpose.”   Romans 8:28. But the most important and effective prayers will be those that involve your relationship with God. What is more important than that?  Developing a close bond with our creator will bring about innumerable insights.  So while we should pray for our daily needs, we must also pray for the wisdom to understand and use all that we have in our lives, including what may be troublesome.

Prayer for Others

How do we respond when some says ‘pray for me’?  What exactly does that mean?  Often the person is referring to a specific issue or even.  But in the Holy Word, we find a prayer treasure that gives us guidelines in how to prayer for others. It is how Paul expresses in Colossians 1:9b-14, how he prays for his brothers and sisters in Christ.  He states: “We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light.”  For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” These verses are a guideline to praying for others as well as ourselves.

-          Pray to be filled with the knowledge of His will. Ask the Lord what His desires or purpose are. 

-          Pray for the possession of spiritual wisdom and understanding and how to apply it.

-          Pray that we may bear fruit in every good work – not in worldly pursuits, but in fruit that will be pleasing to God. 

-          Pray for the increase in the knowledge of God. 

-          Give thanks to the Father.

This manner of praying does not address a specific need, such as a healing or financial gain, but rather requests that our understanding of the Father and His purpose be expanded, so that we may be better able to fulfill the purpose He has intended.  Again, to achieve a closer relationship with Him.

All too often, we speak to our Lord as though we are speaking to a friend.  And while in some ways He may be a friend, we cannot humanize Him. He is not our buddy, He is Lord and Master of all and as such we cannot minimize our reverence for Him. 

When Jesus was asked how to pray, he provided a perfect and complete prayer which is repeated several times in the New Testament: 

Our Father, which art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come.
Thy will be done in earth,
as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive them that trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,

The power, and the glory,

For ever and ever.

Amen.

Matthew 6:6-13

Known as The Lord’s Prayer, Jesus tells us what should be in our hearts as we pray.  We place the Father high above all else, confirming our knowledge the vast separation between us and His Holiness.  We confirm our willingness to seek His purpose and pursue it.  We ask for the Lord’s provisions, both in the nourishment of our bodies and the feeding of our spiritual lives.  We appeal to the Father in the forgiveness of our sins and ask that He empowers us in the face of evil.  The last few lines of the prayer are not included in all versions of Scripture, but they reinforce our knowledge the Lord’s power and glory, today and always.   This beautiful prayer should be committed to memory.  Not to be recited thoughtlessly, but to be prayed in a way that we can understand, feel and relish every word, as Jesus did.

Prayer is an ongoing conversation, which can occur in the quiet of a sanctuary for an extended period of time, or in a bustling train station in short ‘breathe prayers’.  They consist of repentance, thanks and supplications.  Pray without ceasing…..

 Your Sister in Christ,

Veronique Palumbo, Feed My Lambs Ministry    (870) 895-3338