Discipline, Encouragement, Forgiveness, God's Glory, God's Promises, Healing, Obedience, Our Identity, Praise, Prayer, Relationship to Christ, Salvation, Sin, Struggles, Thankfulness

Our Prayer Life

As Born-Again Believers, we should have an active prayer life. It is an important component of a Christian’s life. Our communication with God is important and we can be assured that He is listening and answers. Today’s Bible Journaling verse says, “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” (1 Peter 3:12 ESV) Peter reassures us that God pays attention to His children, and He wants to help us.

Communication with God depends on our participation. If we want a close relationship with Him, we need to be in prayer regularly. God desires it more than we can even imagine. The Bible says, “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:” (1 John 5:14 KJV) He loves us and His greatest desire is to be in communication with us.

Therefore, we need to make sure we are in constant contact with Him. Does that mean we need to be praying constantly wherever we are, doing nothing else but praying? I don’t believe that is what God meant in Thessalonians 5:17 when it says, “Pray without ceasing.” (KJV) We can be in an attitude of prayer constantly. We can do our daily activities and still pray in our hearts. However, it is beneficial for Christians to set aside time each day for prayer. For some, it can be hard to find the time to just shut the world off and talk to God. Some, especially new Christians, may find it difficult to even know how to get started. Praying is nothing more than having a conversation with God. There are several tools available for Believers to utilize in beginning a life of prayer.  

One such tool is using the acronym PRAY.  P stands for praise, R is for repent, A is for ask, and Y is for yield. We should start our prayer time with praise to God for all He has done for us, and for who He is. This is a time of expressing to God how much we love Him and what He means to us. It’s a time for glorifying and worshipping Him. Then we should repent of any sins for which we need to ask forgiveness. When we fail in some way, we need to make it right with God. 1 John 1:9 tells us, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (NASB 1995) That isn’t just for those who want to become Born-Again, that is also for Believers who have been in the faith. As Christians, we aren’t perfect, and we may have times when we sin. God assures us that He will be faithful to forgive us, and so He desires us to pray and ask for His forgiveness. The time to make requests comes next. These are petitions that are heavy on our hearts; they can be for us or others. God is faithful and will hear and listen to our requests. This is when we can go into intercession for our loved ones, asking for salvation, healing, deliverance, etc. If we are dealing with an issue that is painful, difficult, or something else, this is the time to pour out our hearts to Him. Lastly, is a time to put our faith into action. We must yield to His leadership. When He gives us direction, we should follow Him and yield to God.  This shows our obedience.

As we practice prayer in obedience and yield to His direction, we grow in our walk with Him. God is always attentive to the needs of His children, and He is anxious to meet their needs.  

Revelation 5:8 tells us that our prayers are held in bowls of incense in Heaven and that the prayers of Believers are precious to Him. Communication with God is essential to the Christian’s life, and it creates a bond with the Lord that develops into a close relationship with Him.

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Donna Knuth Rice

I am trying a blog for the first time in my life, and frankly, I feel like I don't have a clue as to what I'm doing! But, here goes. I work at a Christian Television network in the Correspondence Department, where I write letters and emails to our viewers, pray with them for their needs, and send materials they request. I am a Christian. I was saved at the age of 11 during a youth meeting at my church. My pastor led me to the Lord, and to say the least, my life has been an adventure. I am a widow. My late husband, Allen, passed away after 34 1/2 years of marriage. He had been sick the last seven years of his life, and it was a struggle, for him and for me. We met as part of a singing group that was affiliated with a Christian Radio station, and we sang together all through our lives together. We both worked in television and radio all through our married life, mostly for Christian stations. Besides singing I also play flute. I had the luxury of having parents who started out as music teachers...so music was in our house constantly. Some people describe me as being a loud-mouthed lime type...can't disagree with that. I have a tendency to put my foot in my mouth more times than I can count! I also have a tendency to say exactly what's on my mind...which is why I get myself in so much trouble! LOL! Trust me, that's something me and God have been working on for a very long time. I have no children here on earth, although I have a baby in heaven. My baby here is my dog Jack. He's a black lab/ chow mix. He's a big boy....thinks he's a lap dog! Can't think of much else to say. The reason I started this blog is because a few months ago in church, a guest pastor came and delivered a message, and when he asked for those of us who wanted prayer to come forward, I did. When he came to me he asked me if I did any journaling. I told him no 'cause I wasn't very good at it. He told me to start, and prophesied over me that my journal thoughts would impact other people. I wasn't sure just how I was to go about doing this. In fact, I was a little hesitant at first. I started journaling at home, and our assistant pastor's wife asked me to submit something for our Senior newsletter. I didn't the first edition, but something I had heard on Christian radio a long time ago and has stuck with me all these years, came to mind so I submitted an article. That article will be my first post. I don't claim to have all the answers, and my thoughts may seem a little "out there", but I feel God has been prodding me to do this, and so here I am. I hope what I post will bring encouragement, and "Something to Think About".

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