8 - Pray
Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.
Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.
Ephesians 6:18 (NLT)
Some of the churches in our area have joined together to enter into a season of 40 days of prayer and fasting for the region. It’s so good to have times of special focus, so today I am spending some hours in the sunshine with the purpose of prayer – and writing. It just so happens that today is my time to write on prayer as part of our battle plan.
After telling us to clothe ourselves in the armour of God, Paul then urges us to ‘pray in the spirit at all times’. Prayer is our lifeline to heaven. On the battle field communication with the commander is vital because from him come strategies and orders on how to proceed. The Holy Spirit is our communications specialist. He’s the one who directs our prayers to the Father and communicates the Father’s directions back to us. We need him in our communication.
It is easy for us to bombard heaven with our prayer list but it’s quite another to say, “Holy Spirit please help me to pray according to the will of the Father today. Show me how I should pray and for whom I should pray.” It is vital to stay in tune with the Holy Spirit.
Staying in union with Christ and being mindful of and thankful for all that he has accomplished for us on the cross will also help us maintain an attitude of humility which is so endearing to God. James 4:7-8 urges ‘So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Come close to God and he will come close to you.’ Also Hebrews (4:16 and 10:19) reminds us that we can come boldly before God’s throne of grace. We have confidence towards God if we come with sin cleansed. Then we can hear from God and pray according to his will knowing that he hears and answers our prayers (1 John 3:21-22)…… in His time, not necessarily ours.
Prayer is an amazing privilege because it can touch lives near and far, people in places of high authority and people in prison. Prayer does not discriminate and is not limited. We shouldn’t only pray for our immediate family and friends; we need to remember to extend our prayers to cover leaders in our church, community and country – in fact all in authority, so that they can rule well and we can live in peace (1 Timothy 2:1-2). I confess that I often fall short in this area. By the way, it is fine for you to pray for yourself too. It is not selfish as some would think. God has room for all our prayers.
We have been given great power and authority in prayer by Jesus Christ. Let us not neglect to use his gift to us, under the leadership of the Holy Spirit.
Prayer: Holy Spirit help me to recognise the great privilege of prayer and please keep me walking in close communication with my Heavenly Father through you. Amen
Some of the churches in our area have joined together to enter into a season of 40 days of prayer and fasting for the region. It’s so good to have times of special focus, so today I am spending some hours in the sunshine with the purpose of prayer – and writing. It just so happens that today is my time to write on prayer as part of our battle plan.
After telling us to clothe ourselves in the armour of God, Paul then urges us to ‘pray in the spirit at all times’. Prayer is our lifeline to heaven. On the battle field communication with the commander is vital because from him come strategies and orders on how to proceed. The Holy Spirit is our communications specialist. He’s the one who directs our prayers to the Father and communicates the Father’s directions back to us. We need him in our communication.
It is easy for us to bombard heaven with our prayer list but it’s quite another to say, “Holy Spirit please help me to pray according to the will of the Father today. Show me how I should pray and for whom I should pray.” It is vital to stay in tune with the Holy Spirit.
Staying in union with Christ and being mindful of and thankful for all that he has accomplished for us on the cross will also help us maintain an attitude of humility which is so endearing to God. James 4:7-8 urges ‘So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Come close to God and he will come close to you.’ Also Hebrews (4:16 and 10:19) reminds us that we can come boldly before God’s throne of grace. We have confidence towards God if we come with sin cleansed. Then we can hear from God and pray according to his will knowing that he hears and answers our prayers (1 John 3:21-22)…… in His time, not necessarily ours.
Prayer is an amazing privilege because it can touch lives near and far, people in places of high authority and people in prison. Prayer does not discriminate and is not limited. We shouldn’t only pray for our immediate family and friends; we need to remember to extend our prayers to cover leaders in our church, community and country – in fact all in authority, so that they can rule well and we can live in peace (1 Timothy 2:1-2). I confess that I often fall short in this area. By the way, it is fine for you to pray for yourself too. It is not selfish as some would think. God has room for all our prayers.
We have been given great power and authority in prayer by Jesus Christ. Let us not neglect to use his gift to us, under the leadership of the Holy Spirit.
Prayer: Holy Spirit help me to recognise the great privilege of prayer and please keep me walking in close communication with my Heavenly Father through you. Amen
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