Post by Barry on Sept 19, 2008 20:48:25 GMT -5
WHY PRAY?
[/b]If I told you that you were going to have the opportunity to talk with Jesus Christ for 15 minutes this afternoon and you could make one request of Him, what would your request be? If you could ask Him anything, would you ask for protection, a new job, or money? What would you ask for?
Once Jesus’ disciples had this opportunity – Luke 11:1 tells us that they came to Jesus one day and they had a request. “Lord, teach us to pray…” Why, of all the things they could have asked, did they ask this question? I think it was because they saw the results of prayer in Jesus’ life. They saw Him pray and they saw what happened. The disciples had watched Jesus preach the greatest sermons ever, they had been there while he performed miracles, but never once did they say, “Lord, teach us to preach” or “Lord, teach us to do miracles” or “Lord, teach us to raise the dead”. Instead they said, “Teach us how to pray.” From watching the example of Jesus, these men knew that prayer was the key to what they needed in life.
IN PRAYER…
1. I DECLARE MY DEPENDENCE ON GOD
When I pray, I am saying to God, “I need You.” For some reason, many of us have a problem admitting this. Perhaps it’s a part of the American mindset – we value independence, hard work, and making it on our own. And while that can be a good thing, if you learn anything when you come to Jesus Christ, it is that you don’t have the ability to make it spiritually on your own.
The reason why a lot of people don’t pray is because it costs – It costs honesty. “I admit I am inadequate – I am helpless – I need Your help in this situation.” As long as you think you’re self sufficient, prayer can have no meaning for you.
2. I GROW IN MY RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD
When I first got out of high school I had a boss named Tom. After working together for some time, the relationship I had with my boss began to change. While he remained the boss, he began to confide in me on a different level. We would spend time together outside of work, and found we had a number of things in common. We moved from a boss/employee relationship, to a friend/friend relationship.
The more time you spend with God you will find that the nature of your relationship will change. You will not become more saved, more attractive, or get more stuff. But your relationship will change from that of master/servant, to master/friend.
3. I ASK AND RECEIVE FROM GOD
I once read a rather self-righteous sounding book about prayer where the author stated that we should never ask God for anything, or if we had to, it should be at a minimum. He believed that the more mature a Christian becomes, the less they will request from God, and the more they will spend their time just praising His name.
That’s about the biggest bunch of nonsense I’ve ever heard! God wants us to ask and receive from Him in prayer. In fact, the longer I’ve been a Christian, the more I ask Him for, because I have learned to believe in His ability to a much greater extent than ever before.
4. I BUILD THE KINGDOM FOR GOD
This is the most exciting thing about prayer – It’s an act of cooperation with God in the building of His kingdom on earth. Prayer is God’s program – Prayer is God’s modus operandi. Prayer is God saying, “I have chosen to limit Myself to what I accomplish on earth simply by limiting Myself to the faith of My children on the earth. What they believe Me for, I will do.” When we pray for other people, we are cooperating with God. We are teaming up with God to accomplish His work in the world.
In Christ,
Barry