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Nurturing Prayer

By Elizabeth Smith June 4, 2009

Breakthrough is blessed with the most mature and dedicated volunteer prayer warriors to be found anywhere. The intercessors who pray for your needs take their prayer assignments very seriously.

We pray for our intercessors regularly, but even our most seasoned prayer associates can experience dry periods. In such times, it is more important than ever that our hearts remain prayer-ready. The suggestions presented below are designed to encourage and revitalize your prayer walk:

1)  Pray about your commitment to pray. Ask the Lord to increase your faith and zeal for prayer.

2)  Cleanse your way. Pray Psalm 139:23-24: “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts; and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”  By asking the Lord to examine our hearts and motives, we can remove unforgiveness, resentment, and other barriers to answered prayer.

3)  Ask the Lord to help you love others more. God is love, and we connect with Him on that basis. Jesus wrote in John 13:35, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if you have love one for another.”  Love for others is an indispensable element to a vibrant prayer life.

4)  Nurture your own soul. “Thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee” (Psalm 119:11). Our time in God’s word builds us up spiritually and gives biblical understanding to our prayers. Additionally, praying God’s word is one of the most effective ways to pray.

5)  Have a prayer partner. Paul teaches about the interdependence of Christians through the gifts of the Holy Spirit in 1 Corinthians 12. God has designed us to work together in our spiritual endeavors. Matthew 18:20 says, “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am there in the midst of them.”  Having a prayer partner establishes unity and agreement and provides someone to walk with us and pray for our deepest needs.

6)  Offer yourself to God. “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God" (Romans 12:1-2).  Presenting ourselves to God on a daily basis keeps us in the best position for divine guidance as we pray.

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How to get to heaven

Do you know what it means to be a Christian?

The Bible says:

1. God created you to have a relationship with Him. So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him. (Genesis 1:27)

2. But because of sin, you have infinitely offended God. For all have sinned and fall short of God’s glorious standard. (Romans 3:23)

3. This offense of sin carries with it a present separation and, if not dealt with, the ultimate separation of death. But your iniquities have separated you from your God. (Isaiah 59:2) For the wages of sin is death. (Romans 6:23)

4. But God, in His great love for you, took the initiative to restore your relationship with him. But God demonstrated His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)

5. Jesus, God’s Son, removed the offense of your sin and made reconciliation possible. For He (God) made Him (Jesus) who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

6. OUR PART is to accept God’s gracious gift of forgiveness by embracing His Son Jesus Christ, by faith. God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. (1 John 5:11-12)

One way to express your faith and your trust in Jesus is with a prayer like this:

Dear God, I want to be in a right relationship with You. I understand that I have offended You by my sin. God, please forgive me. Forgive me through Your Son, Jesus. I accept His sacrifice for me. I trust Him right now as my personal Savior from sin. God, thank you for taking the initiative to save me. In the name of Jesus, Amen.

If you have come to God through Jesus Christ, your spiritual journey has begun! We would like to put materials in your hand to help you understand this step and to begin to grow in your Christian faith. Call or e-mail us to get started. God bless you!