PT: Prayer Time with our Heavenly Father
We wonder around looking at what our life is. We complain about the things that happen, especially the bad. When we pray, we think of things we want instead of things others need. As a Christian I have acted and thought this way many times. I pray to God asking for one thing thinking I will get it within a few days. I keep praying just to remind God, when actually I am reminding myself of the need I want. All of this to say, when we pray to God we pray to communicate with Him. We pray to ask for help, guidance, forgiveness, blessings, comfort, and prayer for others. Prayer to God is an important aspect of being a Christian. However, many Christians do not understand the power involved with prayer. When we pray to God, we are communicating with our heavenly Father. We are asking for help in His mighty, powerful name. I know I have to remind myself that God will take care of our prayers in His time and way. Even when we ask God to do things in His time and way, we cannot be discouraged by the result because that is exactly what we asked God to do.
So as Christians what are we to do about prayer? Where do we turn in the Bible for help with prayer? Philippians 4:6–7 tells us:
“Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses every thought, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
The first thing stated in verse 6 is to not worry. God reminds us numerous times throughout the Bible to not worry. When we worry, we do not trust God to act for us. We lose faith in our heavenly Father. Verse 6 tells us to not worry but have faith in Him. Immediately following that we see in everything, through prayer, let your requests be made known to God. God wants us to talk to Him daily. Not just when we need help, but throughout everything in our lives. As we grow as Christians, our prayer with God should grow as well. The more we pray to God, the more our communication with Him will grow.
1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 says “Rejoice always! Pray constantly. Give thanks in everything, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” We are to first rejoice. Not just once or twice, but always. We rejoice that we are saved through faith in Jesus Christ and we rejoice that we can communicate through Him in prayer and He hears us. Second we must pray constantly. Our prayer life takes time to grow. The more we pray to Him, the stronger the communication will grow. Third we are to give thanks in everything. Giving thanks is easy when good things happen to us. But to do it when bad things happen is another story. God tells us to give thanks in everything. When we have bad things occur in our lives, God uses those to grow us and remind to always depend on Him for help. It is God’s will for us in Christ Jesus to have good and bad things happen. It sounds awful because we believe that God should keep us from harm. But God knows what is best for us and when we rely on Him, He will guide us, grow us and bless us. There is a wrist band at LifeWay that spells out FROG. It stands for Fully Rely On God. That is how our lives should be. We pray to God and rely fully on Him through faith that He will provide for us all the time.
