Have you ever sat down and thought seriously about your prayers? I am not talking about the prayer, “Now I lay me down to sleep…” I’m not talking about the prayer, “Lord I sure would like to have that new BMW 335i…” I’m talking about that prayer, where you suddenly see how failed you really are! I’m talking about that prayer about our family members, the “lost” family members! I’m talking about the prayer, where you see your SIN, where you recognize that SIN is yours!
Do you kneel by your bed alone and talk with your Lord and Savior about your relationship with HIM? Do you talk with the Lord about everyone in this country of ours and pray they have a change of heart? And what about our leaders, whether you like them or not, do you Pray for them to see what the Lord wants them to see? That is a tough one I know, but do you know, that to do otherwise is SIN in and of itself?
John 15.5: “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.”
Did you catch that? “for without me ye can do nothing!” Has it occurred to you that without the Lord, you don’t even have the next breath of air, much less the ability to do anything else.|? With our Lord being the Vine, HE is the beginning, the first, the reason you live! With, “For without me ye can do nothing” means HE is also the end to everything.
Revelation 22.13: “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.”
Genesis 1.1: “In the beginning……God…..created the heaven and the earth.”
Exodus 3.14: “And God said unto Moses….I Am That I Am….and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel….I Am….hath sent me unto you.”
My friends, let there be no mistake here: GOD is the one and ONLY GOD and there is none beside HIM!
Understanding these Scriptures, we must know that God Created everything. Therefore everything belongs to HIM and this includes you and me, body, soul and spirit! You and I will never have a single thought without HIM or the next breath of air. We are NOT able to live without HIM allowing us to live, one second, one day, or anything else. In other words, you and I, do NOT exist without HIM…the VINE!
So then comes the question, why do we come before God the Father with the prayers that we do?
Stop and think on this: Each body is created by God. It works and moves and does some pretty amazing things at times. Considering how wonderfully we were created and how well our bodies work and then add to that, the length of time they work, everyone would agree God is pretty awesome, Right? Now take a second look at the examples of prayers we have prayed, as those at the beginning of this article. Why would we ever think to come before such a great and powerful God, as we know HE is, and pray any prayers like that?
That is a slap in HIS face! That my friends, is blasphemy!
PLEASE…read the example the Lord gave us on how to pray and then pray like it will be the last thing you ever get to say! Break it apart, give the individual pieces, the emphasis they deserve and know these things in your heart…Prayer to our Lord and Savior requires you and me to be…“fervent!”
Your prayers should be the “bleeding of your heart.” Each and every prayer should the from the deepest part of our heart and soul, moanings and groanings that shake the foundations of the spirit. We should be praying for others around us, especially our enemies and those that hate us, those that try to deceive us, those that hurt us and ridicule us for our faith in Jesus Christ. We should asking for the Father to run through their lives and hearts and give them wisdom and discernment for thier good. And yet, what have we usually said? Have we been blasphemous to our Lord?
Matthew 7.7-8: “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”
This is a Promise and it is something that you can take for yourself and make it yours, personally!
The first thing to understand is: Are you saved to Jesus Christ or not? If you are not saved to Jesus Christ, every prayer except one, will NOT be heard! You must first come to the Father and ask for HIS forgiveness of your SIN and admit that you need HIS SON Jesus Christ to save you. That’s the first prayer! That will open the door to your prayers being heard by God the Father. It’s that simple!
It is after this, that we must learn how to pray and that means to pray fervently. Our time with the Lord is the most important part of being a true follower of Jesus Christ. In the Garden of Gethsemane, our Lord and Savior prayed so fervently that HE was sweating droplets of blood. I don’t know about you, but I have never been able to pray at that level! It is then, by this example that we should endeavor to pray, as we come before the seat of our God and our Father!
The THINGS of this world mean absolutely nothing, they are temporal at best. Our prayers should be those things that will sustain us and give us our understanding of our Lord and Savior. It is talking with our Lord, it is way beyond how we speak with others, and it’s personal (just between you and the Lord)! It is where you are open, holding nothing back, giving your all to HIM, because you love HIM, as HE loves you! It is praise and giving HIM the glory, if for nothing else than your life and the ability to rise again every morning. I find it difficult to understand, how anyone could ever be so conceited as to try and take the glory from the Lord, again…“Without HIM ye can do NOTHING.”
Psalm 8.1-9: “O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens. Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger. When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; the fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas. O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth.”
John 3.16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”