Lord, Teach Us To Pray - Part Eighteen

     This is actually the 72nd installment. Some of these were just verses, but quite a few turned into studies like this one. Some studies were more detailed, some less. If you follow my prayer group, The Inner Circle, on Facebook, all of these studies are posted there, as well. 

Daniel 6:10

When Daniel learned that the document had been signed, 

he went into his house. 

The windows in its upper room opened toward Jerusalem, 

and three times a day he got down on his knees, 

prayed, and gave thanks to his God, just as he had done before. 

    'Just as he had done before'. Talking with God wasn't a new thing for Daniel. He didn't wait until times got hard or impossible before he knelt in prayer. Spending time speaking with His God was more than a good habit he kept, more than mere self-discipline. Praying to, and thanking, His God was a joy; for he did this three times a day. He enjoyed spending time with His God. What better use of our time is there?

    And, note also, that Daniel prayed in the upper room of his house, facing the window that looked west to Jerusalem. (For me to pray in the direction of Jerusalem I would have to look east, for I am west of Jerusalem, the city of God.) Here in this place Daniel always prayed. And the people where he lived knew it. 

    No bells rang out. No one called him to prayer. No one complained about the noise emanating from his windows, for Daniel was not loud. There is no need to shout to God when He is as close as a whisper. 

    If your prayer life is not what it should be, it's not too late to begin being a faithful, faith-filled, prayer warrior. For that is what Daniel was: a prayer warrior. He fought his battles on his knees. He sought out communion with his God and he gave God thanksgiving. He cared not that the law of the land forbade him to pray to his God. Nothing should interfere with our time with God, not even manmade laws. 

    We do not pray defiantly. We want to hear our God speak to us and God wants to hear us speak to Him. Because of Christ in us, we can approach God with humble hearts, knowing that it is only because Christ died for us and rose again to bring us into new life in Him, that God will hear our prayers. 

    The Christian speaks to God in love, in sincerity, in truth. For nothing is hid from God, so it is better to be honest about it (Acts 5:1-11).  

    By this time, Daniel was serving a third Babylonian king, King Darius. No longer a young man, yet still kneeling before his God. Having interpreted dreams for various kings, he now was being given dreams from God that God would interpret for him. 

    In his lifetime Daniel was faithful in pursuing a dedicated, strong relationship with his God. Would that we are so faithful in joyful obedience in our prayer relations with our God! Let us, even now, kneel before our God and commune as friend with Friend. 

FOREVER -Chris Tomlin

Prayer Cards - Pray For My Boldness

 Ephesians 6:19

Pray also for me that whenever I open my mouth, 

words may be given me 

so that I will boldly make known the mystery of the gospel.

BOLDLY GO

Matthew 10:19, 20

But when they hand you over, do not worry about how to respond or what to say. In that hour you will be given what to say. For it will not be you speaking, but The Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

LORD, GIVE ME STRENGTH

Acts 4:29-31

"And now, Lord, consider their threats, and enable Your servants to speak Your Word with complete boldness, as You stretch out Your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of Your holy servant Jesus.” After they had prayed, their meeting place was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke The Word of God boldly.

STRONG IN THE LORD

Ephesians 6:10

Finally, my brethren, be strong in The Lord and in the power of His might.

Colossians 3:1, 2

Therefore, since you have been raised with Christ, strive for the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

    The Holy Spirit of God can only draw out of God's people what we have placed in our hearts and minds. Our human bodies are frail, and while we remember but a part of what we read and study in the Scriptures, The Holy Spirit remembers everything.

    There are no good reasons or excuses for not reading our Bibles. The Word of God is precious, whether we hold the written Word in our hands or the spoken Word in our mouths. But even more so, The Word of God in our hearts is the most valuable to the believer, the faithful child of God.

    We are wells of Living Water, cisterns filled with The Living Word of God, if we have The Word of God in us. Now is not the time to back down, nor cease from, devouring as much of God's Word as we can take in. In the morning when we rise and awaken, The Word should be read or heard. In the evening as we prepare to rest, The Word should be taken in by eye or by ear. The Spirit will do the rest.

    The day is coming, and even now is at our doorstep, and near our families and friends, when owning a Bible will be against the law, even here in America. In-home prayer groups are being fought against by local governments in American cities and towns. Are you ready to stand up and be counted for your faith in The Name of The Lord Jesus Christ? 

GIVE ME JESUS - Fernando Ortega
STAND UP FOR JESUS - classic hymn sung by Fountain View Christian Academy

THE LORD WEIGHETH - Evermore Collective (my newest fave group)

Prayer Cards - All Night Prayer

 

Luke 6:12

And it came to pass in those days 

that He went out to the mountain to pray, 

and He was spending the night in prayer to God.

    Have you ever found yourself among people who want to hurt you or destroy your ministry? You're not alone. Jesus was healing people and feeding His disciples on the Sabbath, during a time when it was forbidden to do such things on the Sabbath. Thus began the determination by those who hated Him and what He was doing to get rid of Him.

    Knowing this, and knowing why He came to us in the first place, Jesus spent the whole night in prayer with His heavenly Father. Pouring into and being poured into. He didn't sleep, but He didn't need to. Spending hours in prayer with God is restful in itself, for we are with our heavenly Father and He is our Rest. 

    Look at what Jesus accomplished after one night spent in prayer:

~Luke 6:13-16 He assigned twelve of His disciples to be apostles (church builders)

~Luke 6:17-19 He was surrounded by a 'large crowd of His disciples', by people from Judea, Jerusalem, Tyre and Sidon: they had come to hear Him, be healed by Him and receive deliverance from Him 

~Luke 6:20-23 He gave His disciples a personal message: what we call The Beatitudes 

~Luke 6:24-26 He spoke a warning to the hearers that had grown comfortable in their lifestyles, to the satisfied, to the mockers and the flatterers

~Luke 6:27-26 He spoke of loving our enemies, sharing what we have with those who have nothing, giving more than, treating other people the way we want to be treated; love our enemies unconditionally, without putting demands upon them; showing mercy where none is expected because God has shown us mercy

~Luke 6:37-42 He spoke of not having a judgmental attitude towards people; to not condemn anyone for their sins but to help them 

~Luke 6:43-45 He spoke of knowing our hearts, that what is in a person's heart is shown by a person's actions and words

~Luke 6:46-49 He speaks of building our lives on the Rock solid foundation, that anything less will surely fall, fail

    All of this Jesus spake after one whole night in prayer with His Father. The boldness of The Word of God is always graced with Mercy and woven in Love. 

    Let us, too, be faithful in our communications with our heavenly Father. Let us come to Him with our problems, our struggles, our desire to spend time with Him. As Paul writes, "Let us approach the throne of grace with confidence, that we might obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." Hebrews 4:16

Maranatha Praise 1

Prayer Cards: In A Solitary Place

 

Mark 1:35

And in the morning, rising up a great while before day,

He went out, and departed into a solitary place,

and there prayed.

    There are times when we need to pray together as God's people and collectively seek out God together and He meets us in prayer together. Yet, there are many more times when we should seek out God on our own, alone, waiting to hear Him speak to us, strengthening us with Himself that we might do His will.

    Here in Mark 1:35 Jesus is doing just that. If we're going to preach The Word of God faithfully, then we need The Word of God to be placed within us. Jesus Is The Word of God (John 1:1-3, 14) in the flesh and needed to spend time with His Father in order to receive encouragement to go on with the task at hand.

    And the task at His hand was preaching the gospel of salvation through repentance (Matthew 4:17), obedience {follow Me} and discipleship {I will make you} (Matthew 4:19). The Gospel of God: Luke 24:47-48 And He told them, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and in His Name repentance and forgiveness of sins will be proclaimed to all nations, beginning in Jerusalem."

    Our ability to preach the gospel well relies on our commitment to spend time with God in prayer, alone. Away from distractions, away from other people, away and apart.