Beginnings in Prayer – Part 1: How is Your Prayer Life; Is Anything in Your Life More Important than Prayer?

Beginnings in Prayer – Part 1: How is Your Prayer Life; Is Anything in Your Life More Important than Prayer? MESSAGE SUMMARY: Part I: Be ready for the Lord and pay attention to and for His second coming. “The day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.” We, as believers, should be aware of God’s signs as they arise. Part II: Prayer is: 1) spending time with God – acknowledging God’s presence in all our lives' activities; and 2) conversation with God – listening to and talking with God. Prayer reflects on our relationship with God. Why don’t we pray. The Apostle James, in James 4:2-3, provides a perspective regarding Prayer Life: “You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions." Relationships, especially your personal relationship with God, are two-way -- listening and speaking. Sometimes, in our prayers, it is more important to listen for and to God than to speak and ask. Spending time with God, in sweet fellowship and in conversation, happens when we make prayer an important priority in a life filled with faith, repentance, and trust. God wants us to “pray without ceasing” and as a part of all our life activities. If prayer is so essential to a Christian way of life, why is our Prayer Life so insufficient? We don’t have a sufficient Prayer Life because: 1) we don’t know that prayer is important -- ignorance; 2) we don’t know how to pray -- knowledge; 3) we are too busy to pray -- priority; 4) we don’t really believe prayer will help or prayer will be effective -- faith; 5) we don’t want to face the sin in our lives – repentance; 6) we may be afraid to pray – trust; and 7) our past history with prayer – experience,. To recharge our Prayer Life this week, perform this exercise: for five minutes each day, pray about a – 1) situation, 2) circumstance, and a 3) person or relationship. Imagine what our lives and the lives of our community and country would be like if we were a people of prayer with a sufficient Prayer Life!   TODAY’S PRAYER: Lord, Sabbath rest is truly an unbelievable gift! Thank you that there is nothing I can do to earn your love; it comes without any strings attached. As I close my eyes for these few minutes before you, all I can say is, thank you! In Jesus’ name, amen.  Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 133). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: I affirm that because of what God has done for me in His Son, Jesus, I AM FORGIVEN. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9). SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): 1 John 2:1-6; James 4:2-3; Matthew 7:7-11; 1 Thessalonians 5:1-17. (Click the blue below to read the full Bible text for these scripture references in BOLD.). WEBSITE LINK TO DR. BEACH’S DAILY DEVOTIONAL – “Jesus Followers Should Fear, Respect, and Praise God’s Power, Sovereignty, and Holiness; but in Life’s Trials They Should “fear not for I {Jesus} am with you always””: https://awordfromthelord.org/devotional/ A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE LINK: www.awordfromthelord.org DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB