“I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone” (1 Timothy 2:1 NIV)
The Scriptures are so very clear. Time after time, passage after passage, I am reminded once again through the power of God’s beautiful Word, of the importance of prayer.
If I could single out one specific privilege of being a child of God that is the most dear to my heart, prayer is the first thing that comes to mind. I love to pray! It brings so much joy and so much comfort to my heart, knowing that God not only cares to listen to little old me, but He desires and wants me to speak to Him and He desires for me to speak to Him often.
I must be completely honest however, and admit that as much as I love to pray, I often struggle with it. Many times, I just do not feel like it. Far too often, I get discouraged after maybe having a bad day or if I am not getting enough sleep or nutrition, I am too tired or too lazy to pray. Many times I forget to pray, and I’m ashamed to admit that that when I finally remember that I forgot to pray, I often hurry through my prayers and what results is empty and hollow words. My mind sometimes drifts when I pray too and I have difficulty focusing on Him and only Him.
Why is this such a struggle? Prayer should be easy! There is little effort required. I do not have to get dressed up and I do not have to be a CEO of a major corporation to have access to the King of the universe. He is there for me 24/7. All the time! He is not like a busy telephone operator in which I need to wait in a queue to speak to Him. No matter when, where, or how, Jesus is never too busy to listen to me and He eagerly awaits for me to cry out to Him and tell Him everything going on in my heart and in my life.
The answer is obvious. It is Satan who seeks to disrupt my prayer life. Satan realizes what God is able to accomplish in my life when I pray. He hates that. He is even afraid of it! Satan is even frustrated I am typing this blog about prayer! He wants to get in the way of the love relationship I have with my Lord. I must never allow this to happen. I must pray without ceasing, always having faith that prayer brings pleasure to My God.
The more time I spend in prayer, the more He makes me realize that I need to do it more!
My God, my awesome Creator of everything that exists, it is so amazing and so humbling to know and believe that even though you hold this entire existence in place, even though you are infinite, timeless and abounding in steadfast and perfect love, you invite me to kneel before you in prayer. You desire for me to speak to you and you love it when I do this!
Lord, I struggle with the question as to why you would desire to hear from me, when you hold infinite wisdom and unending power in your very hands. Why would you desire to hear from me? I am sinful and broken and my heart is often wayward and inconsistent, yet hearing from me is one of your greatest desires. It is humbling to think about!
Lord Jesus, I humbly ask that you keep the enemy away from the time I spend praying to you. Let nothing get in between us. I want to pray during the hurtful times and I also want to pray during the beautiful times of life. Teach me what it means to be a prayer warrior. Give me a heart, even with my limited understanding, that longs to pray earnestly to you in all circumstances of life. Help me to take the focus off of myself, and make me gaze upon you in wonder, awe and amazement. Change the world with my prayers and bring glory to yourself! Bring me to the front lines of this battle of prayer and use my prayers to influence a broken world.
I love you so much, Jesus! And I love that you love me so unfailingly! Thank you for loving me with a perfect love and thank you for listening to my heart. Thank you for being the mediator between me and the Father. Thank you for all you have done and all you continue to do in me. I offer this existence as an offer of love and worship. It is all yours!
I love you, Jesus!
John (johnd7264)
Sixty-six books in a year 