“Give heed to the voice of my cry, My King and my God, For to You I will pray. “My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord; In the morning I will direct it to You, And I will look up” (Ps. 5:13). Two kinds of prayer There is the ritual, or habit of prayer, a performance, and repetition of words. No intention of talking with God, just words and a show. Jesus said: “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words” (Matt. 5:6-7).
There is the prayer of worship. You seek and have great desire to come before the Lord God of Creation with your requests. You look forward to prayer. Prayer is a “sacrificial offering” made unto God in humility and in sincerity (honest of purpose, and free from hypocrisy). This honors God. It is from a dedicated heart to God. It is when we take out time for fellowship with Him. It is belief in Him! It is praise to Him! It is pleasing to Him! It honors Him!
Christian
Do you pray? What kind of prayer life do you have? Is it a ritual, not really having a purpose in mind. Is it a repetition of words?
Christian, do you enjoy praying to the Lord? Do you pray out of your love for God and desire for fellowship with Him?
The Christian who does not have a “daily sacrificial offering” of prayer, is a “powerless Christian.” You cannot please God, or be blessed without this prayer life. This is what is wrong with the Church…powerless because of the lack of love for God and this leads to lack of prayer to God, therefore not blessed!
David shares with us his practice of daily prayer and fellowship with God. He believed that when he met with God first thing in the morning that the rest of the day would be according to the will of God. He planned, prepared and desired to be with the Lord. He loved God and wanted to please Him. It was a time of worship! David had confidence in God!
Prayer Needed
It is easy to see the need for Christians to pray. Sin is consuming our hearts, homes, communities, churches, Nation and the World. Christians, if we were praying as we should be, things would be different. We are blaming politics, pulpits, society, anyone but ourselves as Christians. God holds us accountable for the way we live and believe.
So many times prayer is a ritual, nothing to do with God. We are a backslidden Church! Jesus said: “These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men” (Matt. 15:8-9).
When the Church repents of sin and comes before God in humility, God will bless us and we will be the light to the world He has called us to be, but without sacrificial offering of prayer, we are powerless! No more than the religious Pharisees. “Now therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: “Consider your ways!”” (Hag. 1:5).
The Church must cry unto God daily. Pray without ceasing…always a prayerful heart. When we become obedient to His will, He releases His power and things definitely change. We need His strength! “Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Return to Me,” says the Lord of hosts, “and I will return to you,” says the Lord of hosts” (Zech. 1:3).
Revived Prayer Life First, know you are a born-again child of God. Love Him above all. Be dedicated to Him, desire to please Him in all things. Set aside a special time to pray. Study prayers in His Word and see God’s response. Plan to meet with Him. Repent of sin, thank Him for the privilege of prayer. Begin each day with Him.
“…ask in prayer, believing, you will receive” (Matt 21:22).
Christian are you praying?
Prayer changes everything!
Commit today!
Prayer is powerful!
