Connecting The Dots - Week 27 (Prayer)

     Connecting The Dots – Week 27 

                       (Prayer)

Key Verse: ”Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7 NASB)

Prayer is simply a conversation with God. Apart from the instruction Jesus gave when asked about praying (Matthew 6:9-13), there is no prescribed way to go about it. As with any good exchange, it begins with the central idea of our turning our focus toward Abba Father, opening our hearts and our mouths, then speaking to Him.

• “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 ESV)

We may not even not know how to talk to God, what to say or how to begin. But even then He will meet us there in fellowship and intimacy. He is always there and always waiting, if we just take the time.

• “In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” (Romans 8:26-27 NASB)

In any two way conversation there are both talking and listening. Prayer is an opportunity for us to hear God’s voice, to know His thoughts, to hear His answers to our questions. If we are going to fellowship with God, an essential part of that fellowship is being still and listening to what He wants to say.

• “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” (James 1:5 NIV)

The two most important things to remember about prayer are, that God always hears you, and that He will always answer. What you pray, how you pray, why you pray, are all contingent upon knowing that God’s thoughts and ways are not ours. The subject of the conversation is always secondary to our realizing that the One to whom we are speaking knows everything, literally. Yes, He will answer, but in His time, not ours, in His way, not in the way we expect, and according to what He knows is best rather than what we may desire from Him at any given moment.

• “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,”

declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9 NIV)

• “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.” (1 John 5:14-15 NIV)

Prayers are not a series of memorized verses, or a magical formula of “Holy” words. Perfectly, they are as He intended, the building blocks of heavenly wisdom, the daily practicing of intimacy with the One true God and lover of our souls.

 

Questions to consider:

1. In what area of your life have you seen God answer prayer in a tangible way? Was it in the way you expected?

2. When you pray, how often do you remember to stop and listen for God’s response?

Scripture References: (James 5:15-16 NIV), (Mark 11:24 NASB), (Psalms 142:1), (Ephesians 6:18-19 NASB), (Psalms 42:7-9), (Hebrews 4:16 NASB)