Pray without ceasing… —1
Thessalonians 5:17
“Our thinking about prayer,
whether right or wrong, is based on our own mental conception of it. The
correct concept is to think of prayer as the breath in our lungs and the blood
from our hearts. Our blood flows and our breathing continues “without ceasing”;
we are not even conscious of it, but it never stops […] Prayer is not an
exercise, it is the life of the saint. […] Jesus never mentioned
unanswered prayer. He had the unlimited certainty of knowing that prayer is
always answered. Do we have through the Spirit of God that inexpressible
certainty that Jesus had about prayer, or do we think of the times when it
seemed that God did not answer our prayer? Jesus said, “…everyone who asks
receives…” (Matthew 7:8). Yet we say, “But…, but….” God answers prayer in the
best way— not just sometimes, but every time. However, the evidence of the
answer in the area we want it may not always immediately follow. Do we expect
God to answer prayer?” CHAMBERS
When the disciples asked
Jesus to teach them to pray, He did. (Matthew 6:9-13) We call it the Lord’s
prayer, but perhaps we should call it Prayer 101. Acknowledge God as sovereign,
ask that He give us what we need, ask that He forgive our sins, ask that He
give us the strength to resist temptation.
Pretty simple. When Jesus was in
the garden, (Luke 22: 42) He
prayed, “Father, if you are willing,
take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” Jesus asked something of the Father, but it
was in the context of the Father’s will. When we think of prayer, all too often
it is more like ordering from a menu.
Have you noticed how many people order food? Often they say “Can I have or I would like” As if the server is going to say “No! I am
giving you a hamburger and fries!” The
server doesn’t care what you order. They
don’t care if it’s good for you. In fact
they will ask if you “left room for desert”.
Not so with God. His will is
perfect. Jesus told the disciples that (John 4:34) “My food,” said Jesus, “is
to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.” His priority, as
ours should be, is to do the will of the Father. If you pray that God’s will be done, you pray
in harmony with the very nature of God.
His will, will be done. Our lives
should be in alignment with His will.
(James 5:16) Why are the prayers of a righteous man powerful and
effective? Because they are in alignment
with the will of the Father. Is there
something stirring in you that challenges that notion. Something that says, but what I want is
reasonable, why would God deny me? Why indeed.
(James 4:2-3) “You do not
have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because
you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” Go back to Prayer 101. If you were to condense that lesson it would
be summed up in Proverbs 3:5-6. Trust God.
Charley
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