Prayer isn’t something a person does; it is something he lives. Prayer is where you find mercy and grace—it is where you learn to move throughout the day in the rhythms of grace (defined as heaven’s help by Dr. Mark Barclay). There are believers who desire to pray but don’t know where to begin; others simply are void of the desire to pray.
What is your view of prayer? Do you allow time for developing a personal relationship with the God who purposes the fulfillment of every person? Do you give Him a quick rundown of your prayer list and exit without giving Him time to fellowship with you? The Holy Spirit is your Helper and He will help you develop your priorities in prayer.
Far too many Christians say they don’t have the time; yet they are overburdened and heavy-laden. Jesus said to come unto Him and learn of Him. If you accept this invitation, He will give you the rest He has promised, and you will go on your way in peace regardless of circumstances. Take time to walk through the Gospels with Him and you will get to know Him personally; He was and is today a man of prayer.
If you have lost your motivation to pray and read the Bible, ask the Holy Spirit to revive a desire to pray. You can pray on the run, but allow time each day to sit down with the Father as you would your best friend. There is nothing more important. He will help you as you come with a consecrated decision to declare God’s word over yourself. Command your soul to praise the Lord, and open your mouth with words of praise. Psalm 103 is a wonderful chapter to read aloud in praise and adoration. Don’t wait until you feel like praying. Cry aloud:
O GOD, You are my God, earnestly will I seek You; my inner self thirsts for You, my flesh longs and is faint for You, in a dry and weary land where no water is.
The Holy Spirit will energize you and develop within your heart and mind a desperate longing to seek the face of God. Praise the God from whom all blessings flow, bless Him, and lift up your hands in His name. Follow hard after Him and cling closely to Him, and His right hand will uphold you. (Read all of Psalm 63.)
In Philippians 3 10-11 (AMP) the Apostle Paul eloquently expressed his ultimate goal in life. This can become your goal.
[For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him [that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly], and that I may in that same way come to know the power outflowing from His resurrection [which it exerts over believers], and that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually transformed [in spirit into His likeness even] to His death, [in the hope] That if possible I may attain to the [ spiritual and moral] resurrection [that lifts me] out from among the dead [even while in the body].
Paul was a man of prayer. We are to follow Paul as he followed Jesus, who is our example; He always pleased the Father. Because you want to be like Him, do as He did while he was here on earth. His ministry of intercession for the world continues even today.
Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father praying in the heavens. We, as members of His body, are His channels of prayer on earth. And the Holy Spirit, who knows the mind of God, is our Helper in this labor of love. God wants to involve you in the affairs of life according to His purpose and plan.
Your praise and worship will prepare you to be a channel of intercessory prayer. In the atmosphere of prayer, the Holy Spirit will give you prayer assignments from the heart of the Father. Prayer assignments, identified at times as “burdens,” may be long term or short term.
The more intimately you know Him the more you will seek Him. The more you seek Him, the more you will love Him, and the more you love Him the more you will obey Him. Your desire to communicate with Him will increase, and you will learn creative ways to express your love for Him. Obey His call to prayer simply because you love Him, and praying for others will emerge out of a heart of love for the Father. You will learn to love others even as you love yourself.
In his book, The Heart of Paul, Dr. Ben Campbell Johnson wrote: Cultivate a continuous attitude of prayer both for yourself and for the Godfamily. The more you practice prayer the sooner you will find yourself praying about everything and for everyone. Prayer will become your lifestyle. The Holy Spirit helps you pray when you don’t know how or what to pray for.
Establish a time to pray and read God’s love letter from Him to you; make it your priority each and every day. The Father is drawing you to Himself with an unconditional love. You don’t have to earn this love, you simply come as you are and receive the love that will drive all fear out of doors; a love that gives and gives and gives. When you give yourself to prayer you will reap the prayers of others, and you can rest assured that Jesus and the Holy Spirit are interceding for you. Proverbs 11:25 reinforces the spiritual law of sowing and reaping: The liberal person shall be enriched, and he who waters (prays) shall himself be watered (prayed for). Words in parentheses added by author.
Praying will evolve into a lifestyle of prayer, and you will become more intimately acquainted with the God of the universe—the God who made us for His good pleasure. You will get a clear understanding of the truth about God and the truth about yourself.
Do you need help with your prayer life? My purpose in writing the Prayers That Avail Much® book series was to help people develop an intimate relationship with the Father through the practice of prayer.
God loves you and so do I.
Have a Blessed Thanksgiving with family and friends. Bring an offering of thanksgiving to the Father. He is listening and will receive your offering.
The entire Prayers That Avail Much® book series may be purchased at https://prayers.org/merchant2/merchant.mvc.
Copyright © 2005 by Germaine Copeland
Germaine Copeland is the author of the best selling book series, Prayers That Avail Much. She has written scriptural prayers for the family. Read your Bible, pray and attend church where you can soak up the love and faith of God. You will receive emotional healing, experience spiritual growth and become more intimately acquainted with your Heavenly Father, and your relationships will grow stronger.