Friday, June 23, 2017

The Importance of Prayer

Pray, Prayer, Humility, Humiler
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Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. 1Peter 5:6-7 (ESV)

            When we accept Jesus as our LORD, believers tell us we are to pray to God. A ‘babe in Christ’ wonders why this is so important.

            We draw closer to God when we pray. If we find ourselves feeling alone in a circumstance. All we have to do is enter God’s presence. When a person accepts Christ, that person may or may not come from a Christian family. If they do, they seem to find it easier to navigate through life. If they don’t, they have to learn more about the LORD through the church, through Sunday school, and through prayer.

          We learn to rely on Him in times of distress. Due to our humanity, we will experience stressful events. A dear friend and her husband recently spent most of a week at his sister’s caring for that sister and her husband, who was in the process of going to be with Jesus. Prayer got them through. After the brother-in-law passed, my friend told us that she was very thankful that God used her and her husband during that time.

          We seek His guidance when we are doing things we have not done before. When I began again to write, all the things that presented themselves were new to me. Every time something different came my way I met by voicing, “I haven’t done that before. . .” and then finished my thought. I learned I had to pray for His guidance in order to receive thoughts on which to write. As I sit here typing this essay, I approach a new phase of writing for the LORD, that of published author. I have had to consider factors that I never had to think about before. Without God and people praying for me, I would be a very nervous woman.

         We seek His protection over our loved ones when they travel. Our son, a confirmed bachelor, recently went on vacation. His destination was a lake three states away. He arrived a day earlier than he thought. He camped three nights. On the fourth day, he had hired a guide to take him fishing on a neighboring lake. He tent camps. On that third night, it rained, drenching everything. On that fourth day, he called me and said he was on his way back to his home. I had prayed for travel mercies for him. I had also prayed for God to guide him while he was so far from home.
One lesson we all have to learn is that God answers prayer according to His plans, not ours. When we pray, we can only ask what is in our hearts. He is in control and will answer as He sees fit.


Prayer: Lord God, please help us to learn that we can trust you when we pray. Help us to realize that You will answer our requests in Your way and in Your time. We will give You the praise. In the name of Jesus, we pray. AMEN


        I will be taking a break from blogging to do work for Vacation Bible School. Also, to get my writing area better organized, and to proofread my book when it comes in the mail. I will be back here on July 10th.

4 comments:

  1. Where would we be without the prayers of friends, loved ones and even those who came before us? Praying for you as you prepare for your book publishing (so exciting!)...and VBS...how wonderful for you! Yes, God answers prayer...and He meets us in our prayers...so thankful for this gift.

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    1. Pam: Thank you for your encouragement. At our church we honor everyone's prayer requests, even the children's. I try to pray for all those who post requests online, even if it's a sentence prayer.

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  2. Wow. This shows us how dependent we are on the Lord for everything! Thanks for the reminder, Cecelia.
    Have a great break!
    Jen

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    Replies
    1. Jeanette: Thank you for your kind thought. We really don't realize the importance of prayer until we have been the recipient of some one's prayers.

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God Alone

  Jesus and the children at our church's prayer walk.          I will both lie down in peace and sleep;  For You alone, O LORD make ...