Encouragement, Faith, Forgiveness, God's Glory, Guidance, Honor, Miracles, Music, Our Identity, Patience, Praise, Prayer, Provision, Relationship to Christ, Repentance, Strength, Struggles, Thankfulness, Trust, Waiting

Prayer Helps Us Grow in the Lord

Part of growing in the Lord requires communication with Him. Prayer is our access to God, establishing a relationship with Him as we communicate our heart’s desires. Our Bible Journaling verse today says, “Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.” (Jeremiah 33:3 ESV)  God asks us to talk to Him. He wants that close relationship with us so that we can grow in our Spiritual walk with Him.

My husband and I are part of a small group at our church, and we just finished a series on prayer. Several things stood out to me as we met week after week. The first was that we need to develop habits of prayer. I know for myself, that is a big one. Sometimes I find it hard to make a habit of praying throughout the day, but when we do this, our relationship with God develops. There are also things to consider as we pray. We need to put God first! Jesus showed us how to do this in His prayer found in Matthew 6:9-13. He acknowledges God first in His prayer, focusing on giving God honor, and glory before launching into the meat of prayer. He offers up a prayer of praise for all God has done, saying, “Hallowed be Thy name.” 

Then Jesus deals with needs (give us this day our daily bread.) This is where we can interject prayers of intercession for others also. Then He offers a prayer of repentance, asking God to forgive us as we forgive others for what they have done. Next, Jesus asks God for direction and guidance (Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.)  This is the basic format for prayer, but there are also different forms of prayer.

There are prayers of praise. The book of Psalms is filled with prayers of praise and thanksgiving for God’s goodness. Prayers of praise don’t need to be spoken; they can also be music. For me, that is where my heart is. My prayers of praise come out in music and I find myself singing. Many times a song will be playing over and over in my mind as a prayer of praise to God! He is so good to me, and music is how I express that, and as I praise Him, I draw closer to Him in an intimate time of fellowship.

There are prayers of intercession. These are prayers that fall heavy on my heart as I see friends and loved ones going through trials that seem insurmountable. Their needs are uppermost in my mind and heart. I wait patiently (or in some cases, not so patiently) to see God work a miracle on their behalf, and as I see that prayer answered my faith is strengthened, and my relationship with the Lord grows.

Writing prayers are a way of pouring out our hearts when we can’t say the words. God honors them just as much as spoken words. It also helps us when we look and see how God is working in that situation. Sometimes when the words just don’t come, praying in the Spirit and with tears streaming down our faces, gives an avenue for Holy Spirit to intercede for us!

There are also prayers of lament. These are prayers where our hearts are so broken, and we are in so much pain, that we cry out to Him to, “fix it.” These prayers through pain lead us to trust Him even more as we watch Him work. Romans 8:28 comes into play here. We see that even though what has happened isn’t good, God makes it all come out FOR our good. That’s when we grow! Lament is a key process to talk to God and trust Him with our situation.

Sometimes, our prayers come out in the form of a question. God doesn’t mind when we question what He’s doing, especially when we don’t understand. When we ask a question that requires a yes or no answer, those are the simplest prayers, and it is then that we need to be quiet and wait for His response to us. His answers sometimes are simply, “yes,” “no,” or “wait.” The “no” and “wait” answers require patience on our part and are the most difficult to accept. But it is through those difficult answers that we learn to rely on God totally, and when we see what He is doing in our lives, we are strengthened and our relationship with Him grows as well.

As we pray and communicate with God, our relationship with Him grows, and our walk with Him is strengthened. In other words, He desires to have that communication so that our relationship with Him becomes closer. When we talk to Him in prayer, we learn His heart and His character.

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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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