Can you imagine having a close relationship without communication? God in his wisdom instituted prayer and I am so happy he did. We get to talk to the most important being in the entire universe. Our objective this week will be to make prayer feel as much like breathing (natural) as possible.
Throughout the week you will be required to pray to start your day, pray during the day, and pray towards the end of the day. This might appear daunting but it really isn’t. You will be provided with different focus areas for the different time periods. Of course you are not restricted to only pray for the items prescribed. The prescriptions provided each day should be viewed as a minimum requirement. Here are today’s prescriptions:
- Start of Day Requirement: On this first day we are going to start with praise. Think of the most meaningful descriptors of God. Think about the ones that really resonate with you at this moment. Tell God about himself (not because he doesn’t know but because it is essential that you affirm what you know). Your prayer can be something like, “God you are full of Grace and Mercy.” Don’t shortchange yourself in this moment of adoration. Be generous with your praise – when you think you have said enough, think some more.
- During the Day Requirement: Be very aware of the people around you today. There are many people who are hurting. Whenever you detect someone who may not be having the best day, talk to God about it. The conversation should be as natural as talking to a human beside you. Tell God what you sense, ask him to intervene and ask him for wisdom.
- End of Day Requirement: Think about what transpired today and talk to God about it. What went well and what didn’t go so well. Confess your shortcomings and thank him for the power and help he provides. Check to see if any prayer requests have been left on the blog site and pray for them.
Prayer thought for today: God has elected not to do certain things unless we pray!
Throughout the week we will be collecting prayer requests on the blog site. Please use the comments option to leave and review prayer requests.
March 17, 2014 at 9:17 am
Today, March 17 is a very special day for me. As I read our study about prayer, I cannot help but just praise God! for all His blessings to me. Prayer is such a big part of my life. Today marks the 12- year anniversary of my second life as I survived the church terrorist bombing incident in Islamabad, Pakistan. Prayer is a kind of healing for me as well. When I pray I released everything to the Lord – my wishes, hopes, sorrows, pain, joy and after talking to him in prayer, I have this feeling of contentment and peace. Prayer doesn’t have to be very long, it can be a short phrase or just saying “Jesus be with me or be in control of my life” is already a way of connecting to our Lord . Sometimes when I received email from friends asking for prayer request, I immediately pause and at that moment I say a prayer. We can pray anywhere, any time and God is with us in all situations, keeping us in His arms. and that is enough for me to be joyful. Everyday when I wake up in the morning, the first thing that comes out from my mouth is ‘”Thank you Lord for giving me new day and life”…then I utter the words from Psalm 121:1-8. I especially like to say these verse as I look outside from the window in my living room, overlooking the beautiful view of the mountains and nature of Port of Spain, T&T.
March 17, 2014 at 9:27 pm
There are two things that really got me today. First, trying to imagine a close relationship without communication… Impossible! Even long distance relationships. When couples are separated by distance they can build close relationships with communication. When they really love each other they find ways to communicate: phone calls, Skype, chats, you name it. Nowadays there are no excuses not to be connected. Even more, when there is love everything becomes an excuse to say: Hello, I am thinking of you. Same with our relationship with God, though we cannot see him now, we really have no excuses not to talk to Him, because “The signal” is always “On” and it works very well anywhere we go. The more we are in love with God, the more we would try to communicate with Him.
Second, telling God about Himself. This has nothing to do with building someone’s ego. Actually, the Bible talks about Jesus humbling Himself. (“And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!” Phil. 2:8) So, this is not what this point is about. At first I thought the day requirement was for His sake, but after thinking a bit more on this, I actually now think that this is for our own sake. God already knows who He is, we are the ones who really need to know Him. I like what Pastor Oliver said on Sunday: It is not that we do not know some things, what happens is that we need to be reminded of them. In the same way we know God is powerful and almighty, just to mention only two attributes of God, but we should be reminded of them, because we simply forget about it. And one way to do this is by telling Him who He is, this would keep it fresh in our minds and souls. If we really knew He is powerful, then, when the storm comes we would not be afraid, but sadly we forget. So now I see, that praising Him is for two more reasons: To express our love towards Him and for us to be reminded of who He is, which will cause us to build a stronger faith in Him.
March 17, 2014 at 9:36 pm
Communication is one of the most important indicator in determining the quality of a relationship. There is a vast difference in my communication with God as compared to my communication with people. For me the frequency and quality of prayer is related to the amount of times I walk. This is usually early in the morning and sometimes in the evening. I pray and walk, I cannot sit still. Additionally, there is no distraction from anyone.
I value this time because I can be real and talk to God in the most open way. I will praise him, tell him how dis-appointed sometimes (more than sometimes) in myself, BUT I also ask him to reveal and reinforce his purpose for me in this life.
I have consolation in that I am not inhibited in sharing anything with God, even my deepest hurts. I know I have his full attention and that I can trust him completely. Then, I pause and wait for a response. It is no surprise when the conversation resumes after work.
March 18, 2014 at 8:13 pm
Sometimes it’s not always easy to pray for one reason or another. I’ve found that a lot of the songs we sing can be turned into prayer.
My prayer (yesterday) where I reminisced on who God is:
You are Beautiful BEYOND description
Too MARVELOUS for WORDS
Too wonderful for COMPREHENSION
Like nothing ever SEEN or HEARD
Who can grasp your INFINITE WISDOM?
Who can fathom the DEPTH OF YOUR LOVE?
You are BEAUTIFUL beyond description
MAJESTY ENTHRONED ABOVE.
And as Carolina said, telling God about who He is, is really not for His benefit, but it is to remind us of who He is and to stand in awe of Him.