About Prayer

I want to share with you what the Lord taught me concerning prayer:

Begin your prayer with thanksgiving, acknowledging who God is and praising His Holy Name. Apply the prayer to yourself and then to your family members, to members of your church family, to God’s servants, and to whoever God brings to mind. Finally, don’t neglect to pray for the leaders of our country.

The time you spend praying for those the Lord lays on your heart will vary. The length is not as important as simply lifting their needs before the Throne of Grace. Preferably pray early in the morning so as not to become distracted by the TV or other people.

In 2 Chronicles 7:14 the Lord said, “If my people who are called by my name shall humble themselves and pray…” Before we start praying we ought to approach Him with a humble spirit.

In Luke 18:9-14, the Lord rejected the Pharisee’s prayers because of his proud attitude, but accepted the tax collector’s prayer because he asked God for mercy. We have no righteousness. The exchange happened at the cross when our Lord Jesus took our sins and gave us #His# righteousness.

We cannot brag about our good deeds, for according to Isaiah 64:6, “All our righteous acts are like filthy rags.” And James 4:6 reminds us that “God opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble.” We need mercy and we need grace.

To humble ourselves, we should go to the cross and remember the blood dripping down from our Savior’s body. Just as Moses instructed the Israelites to apply the blood of the lamb to their homes, we need to apply Jesus’ blood to our minds to be renewed by God’s Word; pour it over our hearts, so they can be washed and cleansed from all sins; then apply it to our souls, so we can submit and surrender completely to God’s will.

Ask His Holy Spirit to change your spirit and fill it with Himself, praying also for your body to be healed from all infirmities and made fit for God’s temple. “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? Therefore, honor God with your body.”

Then we need to ask God to fight our battles; we cannot do that on our own. As we go through the desert of our life, His Holy Spirit gives us His strength, knowledge, and ability to win. He is the Paraclete – the one called to our side and the Advocate who can protect and defend us for it is “not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord Almighty.” (Zechariah 4:6)

The Lord Jesus said to give Him our burdens and our problems after we forgive those who did us harm. If we refuse to forgive, He will not help us because of disobedience, and we will not overcome.

Then we meet the Lord in the Tent of Meeting as Moses did. God spoke to Him; He will speak to us; and He will hear us as we respond to Him and obey Him. It is the place where we will get to know Him, get closer to Him, and grow in Him.

Finally, trust Him and ask Him to cover us under His sheltering wings where we will be safe and secure, for, “He who dwells in the shadow of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.” (Psalm 91:1) God is our refuge and our protector for we belong to Him.

Ask the Holy Spirit to seal this prayer. Take a deep breath as you agree with Him. “Having believed (in Christ) you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit.” (Ephesians 1:13) God “anointed us, set His seal of ownership in us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.” (2 Corinthians 1:21-22)

Thank the Lord for hearing your prayer and wait for His answer. (1 John 5:14)