PRAYER
WRITTEN BY DR. JADE PROVAN
Ok its time to talk about prayer, don’t all switch off, or faint on me now. It is time to look at how you can revolutionise your lives, each and everyone of you, through the very simple life changing act of getting into prayer. If you need to be inspired when it comes to prayer, then this is going to be the place to be. I know a lot of you find yourself unsure as to how to incorporate this all important part of Christianity into your everyday lives, finding stuff like this has not quite the same relevancy to your lives as perhaps the exciting stuff like seeing Holy Spirit turning up in meetings, feeling his presence and worshipping him. Believe me when I say that definitely I am with you in wanting to see as much of the exciting radical of God as I can see plus some please. I also know though how important it is to establish a relationship with God through prayer.
Prayer is not just some words strung together when we want something from God, but it is our vehicle of communication with God, our way of talking with him, as well as, when we have problems, desperate circumstances, needy situations, our way of expressing these things to him. Words. are the way we communicate with other people, we have been designed to process our feelings into words and then use these words to enlighten others as to the way we are, as to how we feel, what we are suffering perhaps, or in what way we are happy or achieving. Think about it, every day each and every one of us, use thousands of words to tell the world around us of our wants and needs. Everything from I want a coffee, to darling I love you. From pass the salt, to I passed my exam. We use these things called words as a way to show others around us what is going on inside of us. How much more, our spiritual self needs to be given the same opportunity to communicate with someone who can make like the most major difference in our lives. I know a number of you feel shy or silly sitting down and having a talk with God about stuff, but seriously give it a try. Put yourself in a room alone and give it a go, just tell him how you feel, let out what is inside, even if that is criticism, yes he knows it all anyway, but it will make you feel much better though to admit to attitudes if you have any, disappointment over stuff that you really believed for and never saw happen. Get out of you what is going on inside, remembering its not just a moan fest, if you are nurturing some grievance towards him then use this time to think it out talk it out and put it out. The atmosphere that occurs between you and a person that you have wrongfully judged over something is the same atmosphere that will exist between you and God when stuff doesn’t get sorted out between you. Remember he is always right, never wrong, so we are the ones that when we are hurt or do not understand need to always approach him with the knowledge that he is God, he holds our future in his hand, there is always stuff that we are not going to understand, tragedies that may happen, that we are probably never going to understand, but it is always needful to remember God is immovable, his decisions are irrevocable, he is as I said just always right, and the battle is for us to come into line with whatever he decides over our life, and trust me I know that is far from easy at times where devastation may have hit your life in some way. The way forward though to peace is in this place of prayer, that place of talking it out, putting it right and sorting it out.
Prayer exists in so many forms, and in many ways is an art that like anything else, as you become more familiar with, you will find yourself adapting to your own individual temperament and personality. There is no one formula that I can give you regarding prayer, as you are unique and finding for yourself a unique way of behaving in prayer is what will work best. Some basics exist of course to help you on your way, and that is what I want to cover with you here. First and foremost I want to make sure you understand that there is nothing stuffy, dry or old, about talking or praying to God. If you have any preconceived ideas about this subject, then I would suggest you put them aside for the moment in order to embrace the idea of a non religious form of prayer.
Getting into the habit of praying daily is definitely something that you want to do. Like any other basic in your everyday life Prayer or a communication time with God needs to be something that you include. Let us put it this way, you make time to eat, watch television, take a shower, sleep, read, listen to music, delve into the dubious wonders of the internet, you can take time to Pray. Truth be told we do what we want to do. Remember though your spirit inside of you needs this time to express itself, just as much as the rest of you needs the chance to communicate to others, your spirit needs the chance as well.
Find a time of day that suits you best, and try to stick to that time wherever possible, its best to become a creature of habit regarding prayer time, so that you will feel you have missed out on something if you skip your regular time that you set aside. Anyone doing regular exercise will tell you that a routine establishes what you are doing, so a routine is what you need here when getting into pray, and that will take a while to establish. No laziness allowed here, pray at your set time feeling like it or not.
Keep a prayer diary at first. Remember prayer isn’t just hitty missy mumbo jumbo words, but an intelligent way of communicating with God. Jot down things that matter to you that you want to bring before God, subjects that you want to bring before him, needs and feelings that you have that you want to bring up. Have a list of other people you are praying for. The idea is make pray and praying user friendly for yourself at first, and then as you go on you will find what and which way prayer suits you best.
Jesus himself teaches us how to pray, and as of course there can be no better example for us to follow, lets look At Matthew 6 : 9
“ after this manner therefore pray ye : our father which art in heaven hallowed be thy name. thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power and the glory, forever, amen”
Yes I know most of you have looked at the scripture a few times and don’t exactly feel mush wiser for it, but really I believe that the basics that we need to remember are all in here First of all we need to begin by remembering who God is, worshipping and honouring him, for who he is. Then asking for his will to be in your life, his provision steadfast in your daily life, forgiving you what you have done wrong, but remembering to also forgive everyone else that may have hurt or offended you in any way at the same time. Ask him to protect you from being misguided into things that will destroy you, what might tempt you might not tempt someone else, so be specific!!!! Finnish with more recognition as to who God is, more worship.
As I said earlier there is not one formula for prayer the most important thing about praying is, well, doing it. The more you pray the more you will learn how to communicate. Just as a child must learn how to talk, and begins with only simple words, so must you learn how to let your spirit do the talking. We bury our spirit deep within us forgetting that we are created after Gods own image, and God is of course working in the realm of spirit all the time. So to have the best communication time with him we need to get into the same place he is, that is why as ever the very best and most awesome advice I can or could ever give is, get involved filled with and daily inhabited by the very present and ever Holy Spirit. To him be the Glory forever Amen.
I am hoping and believing that you have been helped into an understanding of the mystery that is prayer through what you have been reading here. Let your own experience with prayer as you practise some of the things shown here guide you forwards into the establishing of a solid prayer driven relationship with God, and most of all ENJOY.