How's Your Prayer Life
. . . Have you ever thought or asked yourself that question? . . .
How is my prayer life? . . .
. . . Am I spending enough time with God in prayer? . . .
Many of us after first receiving Jesus as our Lord and Savior, may ask ourselves how am I ever going to know and really understand who God is, and how to pray to Him? God is the One, True, Living God, and when we receive Him into our life, His Spirit comes to dwell within us, the Holy Spirit will teach us from His Word every thing we need to know.
In fact in Jeremiah 33:3, the Lord said to Jeremiah, "Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know." Jeremiah 33:3, ( Call to Me, is suggesting) - To call out to someone; cry out; to address someone; to shout, or speak out, to proclaim. Qara' (Greek) often describes calling out loudly in an attempt to get someone's attention or for calling upon the Lord or upon His name. Isaiah 55:6 says, "Seek the LORD while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near." Joel 2:32 says, "And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the LORD Shall be saved," Sometimes qara' means "to name something," that is, to call it by its name, as God did when He called the light Day and the darkness Night in (Gen.1:5). Similarly, qara' involves the naming of places, holidays, or children; for example, Leah praised the Lord for the birth of her son, and "called his name Judah" (Gen 29:35). Compare Gen 21:31; Esth. 9:26. Qara' appears more than 700 times in the Bible.
In Jeremiah 33:3; - The positive assurance from God is that if we will Call on Him, He Will answer us in ways that will astound us..Psalm 4:3; - But know that the Lord has set apart for Himself him who is godly; The Lord will hear when I call to Him.
Psalm 18:6; - In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried out to my God; He heard my voice from His temple, And my cry came before Him, even to His ears.
God promised Jeremiah that if he would call to Him, not only would He answer him, but He would reveal to him "great and mighty things" that could not otherwise be known. The Word "Mighty" (Hebrew batsar) is better rendered "isolated" or "inaccessible." The suggestion is that God would give Jeremiah "revelational insight,"revealing things that otherwise would be inaccessible or isolated. Such "revelational insight" always has been essential for a clear understanding of victorious spiritual warfare. One cannot pray effectively without insight into how to pray, as well as into what things God truly longs for us to seek after in prayer. So you can Call to the Lord, and ask Him to show you things beyond your own ability to perceive.
God loves us so much that is why He sent His only begotten Son Jesus to die on the Cross for our sins. God wants to fellowship with us. God wants us to love Him. God wants us to have a personal relationship with Him. God will draw close to us as we draw close to Him. (James 4:8). God wants us to trust Him . . . we need to give everything to Him . . . and stop trying to do everything on our own . . . and let Him do it His way and in His time. We not only need to draw close to Him, we need to grow spiritually and have a deep, strong, vital, life-changing, faith-filled walk with Him. We also need an deep, intimate, loving relationship with God. No one knows us like God does. God wants us to want and know Him as He knows us. And when we realize that it is Him that we truly want in our heart we become free. God is the only one who can identify the longings, loneliness, and the emptiness inside of us as we draw near to Him with open arms asking Him to fill us with more of Himself. But this deep and intimate relationship with God that we all so desire and cannot live without does not just happen it must be sought after, prayed for, nurtured, and treasured.
Spending Time Alone with Him
If we really want a strong intimate relationship with God we have to go after it. It is not going to come to us. If we want something bad enough we will fight for it. God has so much to speak into our lives. But we have to make time to listen and spend some alone time with Him. Jesus Himself spent much time alone with His Father. Why should we be any different? We need to follow the same example as Jesus.
After all is not God our Father Too? I know finding time alone to pray can be difficult, and distractions can always get in the way, the enemy will see to that, but we have to remain strong and stand our ground. We have to make it a priority and set a specific time to pray, read the Bible, and spend time alone with Him in quietness and solitude. We can never draw close to God and really get to know Him well, or develop the kind of intimate relationship we want and need, unless we spend time alone with Him. It is in those private times that we are refreshed, strengthened, and rejuvenated, it is then we can see our lives from God's perspective and discover what is really important, and understand who it is we belong to and believe in.
Five Good Ways to Tell if Your Walk with God Is Shallow or Growing Deep
1. If you follow the Lord for only what He can do for you, - your walk with Him is shallow
If you love Him enough to ask Him what you can do for Him, - then your relationship is growing deep.
2. If you only pray to God when things are tough or you need something, - then your walk with Him is shallow.
If you find yourself praying to Him many times a day just because you love to be in His presence, - then your
relationship is growing deep.
3. If you get mad at God or disappointed in Him when He does not do what you want, - then your walk with Him
is shallow.
If you can praise God no matter what is going on in your life, - then your relationship with Him is growing deep.
4. If you love God only because of what He does, - then your walk with Him is shallow.
If you love and reverence Him for who He is, - then your relationship with Him is growing deep.
5. If you think you have to beg God or twist His arm to get Him to answer your prayers, - then your walk with Him
is shallow.
If you believe that God wants to answer the prayers you pray in line with His will, - then your relationship with
Him is growing deep.
Do you ever have trouble remembering names? I have a hard time with people's names in our church, I can remember faces better than I can names. With God it is different, He has only one face, but many, many, names. But if we do not know all of His names, we may not understand all the aspects of His character. God has literally hundreds of names. Sometimes, we can often have trouble just remembering a few of the basic names for God especially if you are a new born again Christian and new to God's word. For example, we may know that God is our Heavenly Father, but forget that He is also our Husband and Friend. Or we may remember Him as our Comforter, but forget that He is our Deliverer. We might think of Him as our Protector, but fail to remember Him as our Healer. Some people never think of God beyond being their Savior, which in itself is more than we deserve. But God wants to be even more than that to us. He wants us to know all the aspects of His character because the way we recognize God will affect the way we live our lives.
Each of God's names in the Bible represents a way He wants us to trust Him.
Do you trust Him to be your Strength? (Psalm 18:1)
Is He your Peace? (Ephesians 2:14) Is He the Lifter of Your Head when you are down? (Psalm 16:3:3)
Is He your Refiner? (Malachi 3:2-3) Your Wisdom? (I Corinthians 1:24) Your Counselor? (Psalm 16:7)
Your Resting Place? (Jeremiah 50:6)
Each of His names is sacred, and we must treat each one that way.
While I was living and working in the secular world I probably heard the word "Jesus" a hundred times a day, spoken as a curse word by people with no reverence, love, or understanding of Him. It was not until I received Jesus that I realized exactly how much of a curse word that name was when it was used profanely. Taking God's name in vain brings a curse on whoever uses it in that manner because it breaks one of the Ten Commandments. "You shall not take the name of the LORD your GOD in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain" (Exodus 20:7). It also violates God's greatest commandment, which is "you shall love the LORD your GOD with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength" (Mark 12:30). No one who LOVES GOD uses HIS NAME in VAIN.
However, this same Word____ "Jesus" ____ when spoken in love by one who reverences Him, has great POWER in it. Power to save, deliver, heal, provide, protect, and so much more. Using it profanely shuts off these very things from our lives. There is also great power in each one of God's Names, and when spoken with faith, love, understanding, and reverence, it brings us Blessing's and Increases our FAITH. Hallelujah, Thank You, Jesus! For example, God's name is always a safe place to run to anytime you need help. "The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe" (Proverbs 18:10).
If you are sick, run to your Healer. If you cannot pay your bills, run to your Provider. If you are afraid, run to our Hiding Place. If you are going through a dark time, run to your Everlasting Light. By speaking His name with reverence and thanksgiving, you invite Him to be that to you. Often there is so much we do not have in our lives simply because we do not acknowledge God as the answer to that need. How can you be healed if you do not acknowledge God as the (your) Healer? Though He is one God, there are so many dimensions to Him that in order for us to comprehend them all, He has given Himself many names. It's the only way we, who are so small, can begin to understand Him, who is so great.
Below is a list of God's names, (I have included only 30). I suggest that every time you come across another name for God in the Bible, underline it or jot it in the margin or add it to a list. It will remind you of who God wants to be to you. As you read the following list, invite God to be each one of these names to you in a new, real, and life-changing way.
Thirty Good Names to Call Your God
1. Healer (Psalm 103:3 11. Mediator (1 Timothy 2:5-6) 21. The Lord Who Provides (Genesis 22:14)
2. Redeemer (Isaiah 59:20) 12. Stronghold (Nahum 1:7) 22. Lord of Peace (2 Thessalonians 3:16)
3. Deliverer (Psalm 70:5) 13. Bread of life (John 6:35) 23. Living Water (John 4:10)
4. My Strength (Psalm 43:2) 14. Hiding Place (Psalm 32:7) 24. My Shield (Psalm 144:2)
5. Shelter (Joel 3:16) 15. Everlasting Light (Isaiah 60:20) 25. Husband (Isaiah 54:5)
6. Friend (John 15:15) 16. Strong Tower (Proverbs 18:10) 26. Helper (Hebrews 13:6
7. Advocate ( 1 John 2:1) 17. Resting Place (Jeremiah 50:6) 27. Wonderful Counselor (Isaiah 9:6)
8. Restorer (Psalm 23:3) 18. Spirit of Truth (John 16:13) 28. The Lord Who Heals (Exodus 15:26)
9. Everlasting Father (Isaiah 9:6) 19. Refuge from the Storm (Isaiah 25:4) 29. Hope (Psalm 71:5)
10. Love (1 John 4:16) 20. Eternal Life (1 John 5:20) 30. God of Comfort (Romans 15:5)
My Prayer to God
Lord, I draw close to You today, so grateful that You will
draw close to me as You have promised in Your Word (James 4:8 ).
Lord, I long to dwell in Your presence, show me how to press in with you,
My desire is for a deeper more intimate relationship with you.
Show me how to love like You love me,
Show me how to die to self and love others as You love others.
Lord, teach me Your ways I want to be more like You,
Fill me with Your Spirit, I want to worship You in Spirit and in Truth,
Lord, You are Worthy of all my Praise :
I love you Lord, and I lift my voice to Worship You oh my soul rejoice
Take joy my King in what You hear and let it be a sweet, sweet, sound in Your ear.
(repeat)
Lord, I love You, I am open to whatever You want to do in me.
I declare this day that You are my Healer, my Deliverer, my Redeemer, and my Comforter.
Today I especially need to know You as (put in a name of the Lord) . I believe You will be that to me.
God, help me to be obedient and set aside time each day to meet with You alone.
Enable me to resist and eliminate all temptation that would keep me from You.
Teach me to pray the way You want me to. Help me to learn more about You.
Lord, you have said , "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink" (John7:37).
Lord, I thirst for more of You because I am in a dry place without You.
I come to You this day and drink deeply of Your Spirit.
I know You are everywhere, but I also know there are deeper
manifestations of Your presence that I long to experience.
Draw me close Lord, so that I may dwell in Your presence
like never before.
In Jesus Name
GOD'S PROMISES TO ME
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.
JAMES 4:8
I will pray the Father, and He will give you another
Helper, that He may abide with you forever---the
Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive,
because it neither sees Him nor knows Him;
but you know Him, for He dwells with you.
and will be in you.
JOHN 14:16-17
It is your Father's good pleasure to give you the
Kingdom.
LUKE 12:32
Until now you have asked nothing in My name.
Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.
JOHN 16:24
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without
wavering, for He who promised is faithful.
HEBREWS 10:23