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Prayer is simply communicating with God, yet we often make it more complicated than it needs to be. Let's be honest—most of us could use a boost in our prayer life. If we took it a bit more seriously, we’d find that when we pray, we draw closer to God.
Often in life, we find ourselves overwhelmed by the daily struggles and challenges, unable to see the bigger picture—much like not being able to see the forest through the trees. However, this message will remind us of the profound truth that when we place our trust in God, He has a divine plan for each of us. Be uplifted as we explore how to find and embrace God's purpose and plan for our lives. Let this be a time of renewal and reassurance in His unfailing love and divine wisdom.
Do you talk to God? Or Do you talk with God? Prayer is conversing with God in words, thoughts, and gestures. It marks a life with God, where we continually pay attention to God’s presence in this world and in us. Prayer builds a relationship with God as we respond to His self-giving love and mercy and to His commitment to lead us into truth.
Our prayers need to be seasoned with the word of God. When we pray using the Scriptures we talk to God in His language, using His way of speaking. With it, brings power. When we pray through the Bible, we are bringing God’s word directly into our prayers and His power into our praying.
Jesus provided a model prayer for us to pray. Do our prayers follow His pattern? We may call it the Lord’s Prayer, but truly Jesus gave it to us, His disciples to emulate in our own prayers to our Father in Heaven. It’s the Disciples’ Prayer. A prayer that worships God, that confesses our sin, and that covers our cares and concerns and carries them to the foot of the throne.
As believers in Jesus Christ, as followers of His Word, we have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit that changes and transforms us, changes and transforms our desires. One of the desires He brings to light is prayer— talking to God. Prayer regardless of age, IQ, education, and resources, we can all do the same thing— pray. Since God invites and expects us to pray, then prayer has to be simple.
I am sure most of us think we are good citizens— good people doing good things. That we live right and treat others right. Yet, is that the same thing as living an upright life, a life that is in line with God’s word? Scripture reminds us to pursue righteousness. Righteousness is a long word that means to live rightly as God asks us to live. When a woman is healed after 16 years of being hunched over, her immediate action was to praise God! Our lives, how we live them ought to praise God through every aspect of them.
We find ourselves in the Garden of Gethsemane this week. The prayers Jesus prayed give us insight into His nature, His heart, and His mission on earth. The prayers of Jesus also inform and encourage us in our own prayer lives. In today's message, we dive into the topic of cultivating prayer. Far more important than where, when, and in what position to pray is the fact that Jesus prayed and so should we.
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