Acts 17:27 - That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us.
Many see prayer as an obstacle course to be surmounted. Prayer seems to be some difficult or mysterious thing. Some wonder if there is a certain way to approach prayer. Do I have to use certain religious words? How do I address God? Still others wonder if God wants to hear from them at. "Am I worthy of asking God for anything?", they might ask. These questions show a lack of understanding about prayer.
Prayer is a two way communication between man and God. Many become frustrated with prayer because they wonder if God is even hearing them. The truth is, as this scripture tells us, God is never very far from any of us. He is always ready to listen when one of his children pray and he always answers. The problem is we don't always recognize His answer because we may not know how to look or listen for it.
God answers us in different ways. He may immediately speak the answer into our minds. He may lead us to a Bible verse as we are reading that clears up the matter. Often I have been praying about something and then pastor (or an evangelist) will preach on the very thing I was troubled about. This is answered prayer.
God may send someone to us to confirm his word. A couple of years ago I was praying about returning to school. An evangelist friend of mine called me one day to ask a question. The conversation led to his father-in-law who had graduated from a Christian college and was now teaching. This minister left me with these words: If you will seek God first, he will open the door for you to go back to school. The next day someone from work stopped me and begin to talk to me about going back to school. After this, my pastor asked to talk to me and he felt I should go back to school as well. I realized God had confirmed what I was feeling through three different people. That is the way God works. He always confirms his word.
Are you struggling with your prayer life? Don't know how to get started? Take some small steps. Don't worry about how others pray. You are your own person and must develop your own relationship with God through prayer. Some may pray louder than others. Some may have bigger vocabularies. Prayer is not a contest. It is simply spending time with God speaking to him and listening for his voice. Above all, don't expect his answers to always come the same way. The wonder of our God is that he is always the same but his manifestations are limitless. He never ceases to amaze us!
Don't be afraid to try prayer - it really works because God is really never very far from any of us!
Prayerfully Yours,
Sullivan Jones
Many see prayer as an obstacle course to be surmounted. Prayer seems to be some difficult or mysterious thing. Some wonder if there is a certain way to approach prayer. Do I have to use certain religious words? How do I address God? Still others wonder if God wants to hear from them at. "Am I worthy of asking God for anything?", they might ask. These questions show a lack of understanding about prayer.
Prayer is a two way communication between man and God. Many become frustrated with prayer because they wonder if God is even hearing them. The truth is, as this scripture tells us, God is never very far from any of us. He is always ready to listen when one of his children pray and he always answers. The problem is we don't always recognize His answer because we may not know how to look or listen for it.
God answers us in different ways. He may immediately speak the answer into our minds. He may lead us to a Bible verse as we are reading that clears up the matter. Often I have been praying about something and then pastor (or an evangelist) will preach on the very thing I was troubled about. This is answered prayer.
God may send someone to us to confirm his word. A couple of years ago I was praying about returning to school. An evangelist friend of mine called me one day to ask a question. The conversation led to his father-in-law who had graduated from a Christian college and was now teaching. This minister left me with these words: If you will seek God first, he will open the door for you to go back to school. The next day someone from work stopped me and begin to talk to me about going back to school. After this, my pastor asked to talk to me and he felt I should go back to school as well. I realized God had confirmed what I was feeling through three different people. That is the way God works. He always confirms his word.
Are you struggling with your prayer life? Don't know how to get started? Take some small steps. Don't worry about how others pray. You are your own person and must develop your own relationship with God through prayer. Some may pray louder than others. Some may have bigger vocabularies. Prayer is not a contest. It is simply spending time with God speaking to him and listening for his voice. Above all, don't expect his answers to always come the same way. The wonder of our God is that he is always the same but his manifestations are limitless. He never ceases to amaze us!
Don't be afraid to try prayer - it really works because God is really never very far from any of us!
Prayerfully Yours,
Sullivan Jones
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