Only one adequate plan has ever appeared in the world, and that is the Christian dispensation.
John Jay - First US Supreme Court Chief Justice
Wednesday's Word: Revive Your Prayer Life with CPR

Wednesday's Word

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Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Revive Your Prayer Life with CPR



Hello All,

How’s your prayer life? Is it alive and vibrant, providing an ever-present source of hope and strength? Or is it emaciated and lacking any kind of appeal whatsoever? If your prayer life is more in line with the latter description, I hope this helps. Prayer is basically the name we give to (us) communicating with Our Heavenly Father. As basic and simple as it sounds, its importance can’t be overemphasized. To give your prayer life a jolt, emphasize these concepts;

Consistent – I’m not so much talking about getting up early for devotions and a set prayer time although an argument can definitely be made for the impact that can have on strengthening your prayer life. I’m talking about consistency with the Word and Will of God. Christ’s prayer to The Father was consistent with the prayer model He gave the Disciples.

Here’s The Word;

Luke 22:41-42 And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.

Even when He asked if the cup could pass Him by, He stated “Not my will, but Thine.” Consistency will come as we read God’s will as revealed in His word.

Persistent – We’ll have a hard time with persistence when our theology is inconsistent. It’s easy to put too much weight on the idea that God knows what we’re going to ask before we ask, making any true effort seem futile. The above passage from Luke is also recorded in Matthew 25 only there we see The Lord pray and ask three times if there could be another way. The Lord Himself is a good model of persistence. The Lord's Prayer as recorded in Luke 11 is immediately followed by the parable of the man seeking loaves from his neighbor at night. This parable emphasizes how persistence makes the difference. Fact is, there’s a mystery to how our prayers evoke action from God, but God doesn’t lie and James 5:16 is true. We also need to realize that spending time in prayer to God strengthens our spirit beyond the obvious request for a particular answer or blessing.

Resistant – Realize that the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life are ever-present. The World, the flesh and the devil never take a day off. If they can slowly chip away at your resolve to live godly, any advances they can make, place their next advance within closer reach. They seek to dismantle you piece by piece and they're patient as well as persistent. Each time they convince you to trade righteousness through compromise or confusion, they take another step forward. We have to be resistant from becoming like the world and their ability to influence our prayers away from the will of God. I imagine that so many prayers are never answered because we don’t check our motives or realize that our own conduct is hindering them.

Here’s The Word;

James 4:3-4 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

Prayer has got to be one of the most important tools we have to affect change in our lives. We can intercede for others and worship Our Father, the God of all Creation. So sad that if we're not careful, our words can be impotent and empty rhetoric - Keep your prayer life vibrant and alive with CPR!


In Him,
Cros

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