Monday, June 26, 2006

conviction about prayer

"pray without ceasing,"1 Thessalonians 5:17

Every believer should be about the business of prayer. Prayer allows us to come into the throne room of the Most High. We are not allowed to come in on our own merit, but by the blood of the Lamb that was slain for our sins so that we may wear His righteousness. This is no simple matter, God gave His own beloved Son because He is compassionate and merciful towards undeserving and wicked sinners making a way for us to commune with Him.

It is easy for me to discount prayer. A prayer that I will probably always pray is that God will increase my desire for Him. I am commanded to pray without ceasing, (Romans 12:2), but that is rarely the case even though prayer is effective (James 5:16). If I want to fight anxiety I must be a man of prayer (Philippians 4:7). If I want to know more of God’s Spirit I need to be a man of prayer (Ephesians 6:18). Paul states that the only thing that should interrupt marriage is a season of prayer and fasting (1 Corinthians 6:18). Peter calls for two things as we wait for Christ return 1)Love one another and 2)To be serious and watchful in prayer(1 Peter 4:7).

I always find myself amazed at the high priority Scripture places on prayer, but yet how easy it is for other things to deceive me and make me think they are of higher importance. In reality, the most powerful thing I can do every day is to have “eyes of faith and knees of prayer” (Thomas Watson).

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