This coming up Wednesday will be the 1 year anniversary since my ex’s arrest and my world turned upside down. I am so amazed at how God walked me through this entire year. There were times that I was lonely, hurt, betrayed, angry, and every other type of emotion you can think of….but God got me through. One thing that stood out the most for me during this time is the love and encouragement that everyone offered and most of all the many prayers that people sent up for me. For that I am so grateful because there was a time during this horrific period that I didn’t even know how to pray. I wasn’t mad at God or anything, I was just prayed out….mostly didn’t know what to pray for anymore. Last week, I talked about Encouragement which pretty much goes hand-in-hand with Prayer. Praying for someone is always the best thing you can do for someone. As someone who has been on the receiving side of prayers, it is awesome to see how the power of prayer works. Listed below is just some basic facts about prayer that we all sometimes forget. They are simple and to the point and probably something you learned in Sunday School a billion years ago, but we all need a reminder every once in a while. I always like going back to the basics.
Prayer…….
Who to? Your FATHER (Matthew 10:30; Matthew 7:9-11)
Why do we pray to Him? He knows what we need (Matthew 6 :8) He is the God of the Universe, to have a relationship with Him, and request God to affect our behavior.
What for? (Matthew 6:10) The purpose of prayer is to glorify God. The practicality of prayer is that we can be aware of anything that will disgrace his name, anything that will disrupt his will on earth, and anything that distracts another believer. The personal aspect of prayer is we focus our attention first on God and then we talk with Him personally about our daily needs and spiritual needs of forgiveness and of the flesh.
How come? (Matthew 6:13b). We have someone to talk to about everything. It gives us a thankful heart. We have peace with God and it glorifies God.
P-ut it right—confess to God any wrong things you’ve done
R-aise Him up—-Thank Him for the good things He has done for you.
A-sk Him—-Ask Him to help the people you care about.
Y-ou—-Let Him know what is on your heart and ask Him to help.
Posted by Jimmy Barnes 