PERSONAL PRAYER

                                                          PERSONAL PRAYER

I have talked about the importance of praying scripture.  Jesus set the example as He prayed the scripture.  We know from the scriptures that Jesus went off to pray.  This was His personal prayer between Him and God. 

In this busy, crazy, world we need to quiet ourselves and seek a place that we can come before the Lord in prayer.  Just you and Him.  It is a time of intimacy.  It is a time where one can get away from the trappings and noise of the world and seek our Father as His child.

Ann Graham Lotz, Billy Graham’s daughter, gives 4 components of her prayer time.

1.       Worship

2.      Confession of sin

3.      Thanksgiving i.e. answers to prayers; blessings

4.      Intercession

Worship does not necessarily mean a worship song.  It can be affirmations about God’s goodness and love.  Most of the Psalms were written by David and the word Psalm actually means song.  Many of the Psalms give praise and glory to God.  For example Psalms 149 and 150. 

This is a time to ask God to show us our sins as we ask for forgiveness and ask God to give us the strength to overcome our sins daily.

We thank God for His goodness and blessings.  We can thank God for answers to prayers.  The fact that we awake in the morning tells us that God has a purpose and a plan for our day.

Intercession is important not only for our own needs but for the needs of others.  If we forget who to pray for we can write people’s names and prayer requests down.

In my own prayer time with the Lord I start out the day praying the scriptures and then reading a chapter in the Bible.  Then I spend time with the Lord during the afternoon.  My afternoon time with the Lord has two basic components that I felt Him telling me to do.

1.       Give:  Worship and Praise God.  I usually do this by singing praise and worship songs on my IPad.  I may add, “Jesus, I praise You.”  “Lord I love You,” etc.

2.      Receive:  I listen to what God is speaking to me for that day or season.  This is the hardest time for me because I sometimes don’t have the patience to just sit still and listen.  Sometimes the Lord will remind me of something I need to do or give me insight on something that I am focusing on such as a Blog, etc.  Sometimes He will give me a prophecy and I write it down.

Prayer, essentially, is just talking to God.  It is also listening to Him.   This is one area that is difficult for me as far as distinguishing His voice and mine but I think God is teaching me each day as I truly seek to hear Him so I can do His will.

After all, prayer is not only at set times during the day but it is continual.  Brother Lawrence knew about this.  Brother Lawrence was born Nicolas Herman in modern-day eastern France. His parents were peasants, so his schooling was limited. Young Nicholas Herman grew up during the calamitous Thirty Years War, which devastated central Europe between 1618 and 1648.   He joined the army as a youth.  At the age of 26 he entered the order of the Discalced Carmelite Priory in Paris, France.

Here are some quotes from Brother Lawrence from his book, “The Practice of the Presence of God.”

We should establish ourselves in a sense of God's presence, by continually conversing with Him.  We can do little things for God; I turn the cake that is frying on the pan for love of Him, and that done, if there is nothing else to call me, I prostrate myself in worship before Him, who has given me grace to work; afterwards I rise happier than a king. It is enough for me to pick up but a straw from the ground for the love of God. “He does not ask much of us, merely a thought of Him from time to time, a little act of adoration, sometimes to ask for His grace, sometimes to offer Him your sufferings, at other times to thank Him for the graces, past and present, He has bestowed on you, in the midst of your troubles to take solace in Him as often as you can. Lift up your heart to Him during your meals and in company; the least little remembrance will always be the most pleasing to Him. One need not cry out very loudly; He is nearer to us than we think.”

The King, full of mercy and goodness, very far from chastising me, embraces me with love, makes me eat at His table, serves me with His own hands, gives me the key of His treasures; He converses and delights Himself with me incessantly, in a thousand and a thousand ways, and treats me in all respects as His favorite. It is thus I consider myself from time to time in His holy presence.”

 “That we need only to recognize GOD intimately present with us, to address ourselves to Him every moment, that we may beg His assistance for knowing His will in things doubtful, and for rightly performing those which we plainly see He requires of us, offering them to Him before we do them, and giving Him thanks when we have done.”

Prayer is more than just a special time with God.  It is a way of life. Prayer will be different for everyone but we can look to others, such as Brother Lawrence, as examples of the presence of God in our lives.  The next topics will be about praying for others and praying in the Spirit.