"For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires."--Hebrews 4:12(NLT)
Prayer is powerful because it is our supernatural vehicle to access the throne of God. Yet, it is grossly underutilized by many Christians. We devalue its importance or we feel intimidated by it. I hear many people say, "I don't know how to pray" or "I don't know what to say".
If those sentiments resonate in you, consider the following:
* Carve out time to be alone with God. It could be first thing in the morning, a lunch break, in the evening, etc.
* Find a quiet place to pray--a prayer closet. A prayer closet could be your bedroom, your bathroom, basement, etc. It is a meeting place for you and God.
* Begin to meditate on God. Think on Him. Worship and praise Him for his power, might, and majesty. Thank Him for who He is.
(This will "center" you and bring your mind into focus on Him.)
* Confess and repent of sins. Ask for forgiveness. His word tells us in Psalm 24 that in order to ascend to his holy hill, where we experience his presence, we must have clean hands and a pure heart.
* Make your prayer requests known to him (Philippians 4:6)
* Pray God's word in the name of Jesus. His word is a supernatural, spiritual weapon. As we pray his word, it penetrate areas that we cannot access, even in our best human efforts (Hebrews 4:12). It is because of Jesus that we have access to the Father.
Here are some areas of prayer:
Healing/Health
"Heal me, LORD, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise."--Jeremiah 17:14(NIV)
Marriage
"Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?"--Amos 3:3(NKJV)
Peace
“I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid."--John 14:27(NLT)
So, here is how one might pray the word of God using marriage as an example:
Hallelujah....Hallelujah...Thank you Lord...I give you praise...You alone are worthy of all glory...Thank you for your love...Thank you for your goodness...Thank you for your mercy...Forgive me of my sins...Forgive me of pride and arrogance...Cleanse me from all unrighteousness...I pray that my hands and my heart would be pure before you...Father, in the name of Jesus, I come before you praying for my marriage. I thank you for your word in Amos 3:3. I thank you for my spouse and I thank you we walk together in unity. I thank you for agreement in my marriage. I pray against strife, discord, and disagreement. I thank you for harmony, in Jesus' name. Amen
You will find that as you pray God's word, He will begin to speak to your heart and give you words to pray. Prayer is two-way communication, so be sure to take time to listen and receive what God wants to say. Be open to the way God speaks, he may give you a word or a thought, perhaps a dream of a vision. You will know it is God and not your own random thoughts because He will always confirm his word in the scriptures.
So, as the aforementioned person above is praying for marriage, he/she may hear (in his heart) "Love is patient". We know this is God speaking because we can find this truth in I Corinthians 13:4. This now becomes the word of God to meditate and pray on.
And so on. Prayer is an on-going dialogue with God. The more we speak to Him, the more he speaks to us and the stronger our weapon/prayer life becomes!
Prayer is powerful because it is our supernatural vehicle to access the throne of God. Yet, it is grossly underutilized by many Christians. We devalue its importance or we feel intimidated by it. I hear many people say, "I don't know how to pray" or "I don't know what to say".
If those sentiments resonate in you, consider the following:
* Carve out time to be alone with God. It could be first thing in the morning, a lunch break, in the evening, etc.
* Find a quiet place to pray--a prayer closet. A prayer closet could be your bedroom, your bathroom, basement, etc. It is a meeting place for you and God.
* Begin to meditate on God. Think on Him. Worship and praise Him for his power, might, and majesty. Thank Him for who He is.
(This will "center" you and bring your mind into focus on Him.)
* Confess and repent of sins. Ask for forgiveness. His word tells us in Psalm 24 that in order to ascend to his holy hill, where we experience his presence, we must have clean hands and a pure heart.
* Make your prayer requests known to him (Philippians 4:6)
* Pray God's word in the name of Jesus. His word is a supernatural, spiritual weapon. As we pray his word, it penetrate areas that we cannot access, even in our best human efforts (Hebrews 4:12). It is because of Jesus that we have access to the Father.
Here are some areas of prayer:
Healing/Health
"Heal me, LORD, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise."--Jeremiah 17:14(NIV)
Marriage
"Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?"--Amos 3:3(NKJV)
Peace
“I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid."--John 14:27(NLT)
So, here is how one might pray the word of God using marriage as an example:
Hallelujah....Hallelujah...Thank you Lord...I give you praise...You alone are worthy of all glory...Thank you for your love...Thank you for your goodness...Thank you for your mercy...Forgive me of my sins...Forgive me of pride and arrogance...Cleanse me from all unrighteousness...I pray that my hands and my heart would be pure before you...Father, in the name of Jesus, I come before you praying for my marriage. I thank you for your word in Amos 3:3. I thank you for my spouse and I thank you we walk together in unity. I thank you for agreement in my marriage. I pray against strife, discord, and disagreement. I thank you for harmony, in Jesus' name. Amen
You will find that as you pray God's word, He will begin to speak to your heart and give you words to pray. Prayer is two-way communication, so be sure to take time to listen and receive what God wants to say. Be open to the way God speaks, he may give you a word or a thought, perhaps a dream of a vision. You will know it is God and not your own random thoughts because He will always confirm his word in the scriptures.
So, as the aforementioned person above is praying for marriage, he/she may hear (in his heart) "Love is patient". We know this is God speaking because we can find this truth in I Corinthians 13:4. This now becomes the word of God to meditate and pray on.
And so on. Prayer is an on-going dialogue with God. The more we speak to Him, the more he speaks to us and the stronger our weapon/prayer life becomes!
