Discipline, Encouragement, God's Promises, Love, Music, Obedience, Our Identity, Prayer, Priorities, Relationship to Christ, Struggles

An Attitude of Prayer

Today we finish up our series on prayer. Our Bible Journaling verse tells us we are to, “Pray without ceasing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17 KJV) We are to keep ourselves in constant communication with God. The lines of communication must flow freely for us to have a vital relationship with Him.

Does this mean we are to spend the whole day with our eyes closed, hands folded, and kneeling? In his commentary on 1 Thessalonians, J. Vernon McGee states, “This has to do with an attitude of prayer. I don’t think this means that one is to stay on his knees all the time. But it means to pray regularly and to be constantly in the attitude of prayer.” David Guzik, on the Enduring Word website, says, “Christians are to pray continually. We can’t bow our heads, close our eyes, and fold our hands without ceasing, but those are customs of prayer, not prayer itself. Prayer is communication with God, and we can live each minute of the day in a constant, flowing, conversation with God.”

Prayer can mean anything from the spoken word to praying in our thoughts. Having an attitude of prayer is also being aware of God speaking to us as we speak to Him. It’s a conversation between us and the Lord. I find sometimes that I talk to God in regular conversation, for instance, when I was going through a really difficult time, I just quickly asked Him, “God, why does everything have to be so hard?” while I was getting ready to leave for an appointment. It was a running conversation I had with Him throughout that period in my life. Eventually, it didn’t seem so difficult anymore. God smoothed out the pathway for me. He heard my cry for help.

There have been times when our conversation included music. Once, as I was driving down the road, I was by myself. I began singing praise songs without the radio on, and I literally heard a male voice singing harmony with me. It felt like God and I had a duet! It was the most awesome experience I’ve ever had. It was a communion with Him that I had never had before, nor since, and I treasure that time. It was precious.

God also wants us to keep the lines of communication open. Our prayers are precious to Him and are like a sweet-smelling fragrance to Him. The book of Revelation tells us, “Another angel, with a gold incense burner, came and stood at the altar. He was given a large amount of incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the gold altar in front of the throne. The smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, went up in the presence of God from the angel’s hand.” (Revelation 8:3-4 CSB)  

He loves us and wants us to include Him in everything, to have that close relationship with Him, and to engage in conversation with Him. The Lord promises to answer when we pray. “For the eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous, And His ears attend to their prayer, But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil .” (1 Peter 3:12 NASB) He desires that we seek Him in prayer, “For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Matthew 7:8 NIV 1984)

As Believers, we should be in a continual attitude of prayer. The more we engage in conversation with God, the closer our relationship can be 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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