Let Us Pray ( 9)
IF you are asked to pray spontaneously, extempore ( without a written script) at any gathering, do not decline to pray or become nervous about it. Just pray in your own words for what you want God – your Father in heaven— to do for you and the people. Just as you did not need any tutorial lessons to communicate with your earthly father, just go ahead and start to communicate with your Father in heaven. Paul asked us to “pray without ceasing” in 1 Thes 5: 17. We cannot spend all our time on our knees, but it is possible to have a prayerful attitude at all times. This attitude is built upon acknowledging our dependence on God, realising His presence within us, and determining to obey Him fully. Then, we will find it natural to pray frequent, spontaneous, short prayers.
A prayerful attitude is not a substitute for regular times of prayer, but should be outgrowth of those times.
‘ How’ we pray must work out for ourselves. Develop for yourself a pattern and style of prayer that is yours and not that of someone else’s. Do not feel any sense of guilt about praying because of a failure to come up to the expectations of others — be yourself and not someone else.
Nobody can pray your prayers better than you. As already discussed one of the reasons people feel discouraged about praying is because they try to pattern their prayer lives on those of others.
The way in which we view God greatly influences the way we approach Him in prayers. Another reason people find it difficult to pray appropriately is because they have a faulty view of God. Many do not know the nature and character of God. It is critical not to view God through the lens of your earthly father. They view God with fear and trepidation. God accepts you as you are, even though it is not His intention that you stay as you are. He longs for your growth and development. God truly wants to bless us with gifts — because God is Love!
What was our condition when God accepted us? Read Eph 2: 1- 10.
By Grace through Faith
“And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins. 2: In which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience. 3: Among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.” ( Eph 2: 1- 3)
The fact that all people, without exception, commit sin proves that without Christ we have a sinful nature. We are lost in sin and cannot save ourselves prove that without Christ we have a sinful nature.
‘ How’ we pray must work out for ourselves. Develop for yourself a pattern and style of prayer that is yours and not that of someone else’s. Do not feel any sense of guilt about praying because of a failure to come up to the expectations of others — be yourself and not someone else.