Without further ado, I’ll just launch into the second part of my post shared yesterday. If you missed Part 1 of this message, you may access it here.
- Engage the Help of the Holy Spirit and Use Your God-Given Authority!
Do you have what seems like an insurmountable problem in your life? Is there a recurring issue that has been troubling you for longer than you care to admit? These are what the Bible refers to as “mountains”. Maybe your problem is that you are trying to scale, or climb over them in your own strength. BIG MISTAKE! In Mark 11:22-23, Jesus says that we are to speak to them! So, adopt the same attitude as Zerubbabel (see Zechariah 4:6-7) and speak words of faith (i.e., scripture) to your mountains.
Don’t know what to do, or how to pray about an issue? Then ask the Holy Spirit to help you. Invite the Holy Spirit to strengthen you internally, so that you have the necessary resilience to go the distance. Ask him to give you wisdom and to help you pray appropriately and effectively, then turn the matter over to the Holy Spirit, allowing him to pray with, for, and through you, using your spiritual prayer language. I can assure you from personal experience that 10-15mins praying in tongues, yields better results (i.e. quicker breakthroughs) than hours of agonising in your native tongue.
- Pray for Others
Don’t subscribe to the me-myself-and-mine philosophy. Have a generous heart and demonstrate concern and compassion for others. Jesus modelled this whilst here on this earth and even now, after all he has done to secure our salvation, he is still engaged in intercession for us.
The New Testament has many prayers that the apostle Paul prayed for fellow believers, which we can use in our own prayer life to support other Christians. And, in Colossians 4:12, one of Paul’s helpers, Epaphras, is brought to our attention as someone who was “always labouring fervently” in prayer for his brothers and sisters in Christ.
As someone who values prayer highly and considers it to be the most precious gift of time that anyone could bless me with, I’d be thrilled to know that there’s an “Epaphras” somewhere out there amongst my acquaintances, wouldn’t you?
- Embark on a love journey with Jesus
How would you feel if the only time your family members, friends or significant other contacted you, was when they wanted something?
Jesus is looking for a bride for himself and accordingly seeks to woo you into a loving, committed relationship.
Are you too busy, working for Him? Or too self-absorbed by your own life, to care about Jesus’ desires?
Perhaps you have focused your prayer life on relating solely to Father-God. Why not bring some spiritual romance into your devotional life and pursue a love relationship with His Son, Jesus?
Be like the Shulamite woman in Song of Solomon and respond to his affectionate attentions. Listen out for His gentle knocking upon the door of your heart. Open without reservation, allow him to come in and bless you from his banqueting table of love.
Enable this lover of your soul, to sing songs of deliverance over you, to soothe and tenderise your heart with his attentions. Submit yourself to him so he may transform you from a tortured or complacent individual to a contented, spirit-kissed soul. Then you will be able to join in with the chorus of those who passionately yearn, seek out and discover the fragrance of his abiding presence.
I sleep, but my heart is awake;
It is the voice of my beloved!
He knocks, saying
“Open for me, my sister, my love,
My dove, my perfect one […]
(Song of Solomon 5:2 (NKJV)
- “Pray” is a verb – so do it!
“I don’t know what to say!”
Do you give this as your reason for not praying? Then let’s explore this further.
Is this because you are intimidated by who God is? Or is this because you feel you need to have a certain type of language to speak to him? Or is it because you really don’t want to, and this serves as a useful excuse?
I was brought up in a family where children were to be seen but not heard. We were not allowed to watch TV in case we were corrupted by what was being shown. I was therefore unable to communicate with other children about Popeye, or other characters of children shows, because I’d not seen them. I grew up feeling awkward and strange, not used to articulating my opinions or feelings.
By the time I became an adult, I had to learn how to make general conversation with people outside of my immediate family. I’d agonise about whether I was interesting, or intelligent, or saying things in the right way. I learned how to keep a conversation going simply by listening to the general chit-chat of work colleagues.
If you really don’t know how to pray, get with someone who does. And if you don’t know anyone or are too shy to ask, listen to those online who do pray and even offer a prayer ministry to others. Grace for Purpose is one such ministry that I highly recommend. Check them out on YouTube. I include a short video below for those interested.
For further assistance, read your Bible and read books on prayer. My own book, Petitions From My Heart, (see purchasing details below), offers you a prayer chart and gives you a whole range of ready-made prayers you can use. In this age of information technology and global reach, there is simply no justifiable excuse.
Finally, ask the Holy Spirit to teach you. He is right there within you and his assignment is to come alongside you and help.
—–oooooo000oooooo—–
To those who stuck with me through both parts of this blog post, I thank you for your patience and for blessing me with your time and attention. And to those who have a true desire to upgrade their prayer lives, may God use these two posts to convict, challenge or inspire you.
Wishing you a tremendously blessed year of spiritual growth, victory, and peace!
With love,
Carol E. Hind – Author/Blogger/Prayer Advocate
The effectual, fervent prayer avails much!
—–oooooo000oooooo—–
Dear reader, your visit is appreciated. Would you be so kind as to share your response to this post in a comment box below? And if you know anyone who could benefit from its message, please don’t hesitate to share it. Thank you.
__________________
Are you looking for a resource that will help you to draw closer to God and develop a consistent and confident prayer life? Then please don’t hesitate to check out the links below.
AMAZON UK https://amzn.to/3ciUt1q
AMAZON US https://amzn.to/3bj6gM1
__________________
Have you lost your spiritual verve? Has your Christian life become somewhat humdrum? Discover the secret to a vibrant and victorious spiritual life, through Holy Communion.
AMAZON UK: https://tinyurl.com/yz78s6su
AMAZON US: https://tinyurl.com/yswua69f
Women of Warfare! (WOW!) 