WE SHOULD ALWAYS PRAY

Jesus said we should always pray (Luke 18:1). As followers of our Lord Jesus Christ, we need to make prayer an integral part of our lives as he did.  Before Jesus began the public part of his God-assigned ministry to save the world, he prayed  and fasted 40 days alone with God in the wilderness (Luke 4:1-2).  And he prayed throughout his life until the day he died on the cross for our sins. Dying for our sins, he experienced the hellish pain of being separated from and forsaken by God. Knowing he had accomplished God plan of salvation for us, Jesus said to the Father: “It is finished.” (John 19:28-30; John 3:16). To achieve God’s purpose in our lives, we need to make prayer an integral part of  our lives. 

PRAYING HELPS US DO GOD’S WILL

Praying, reading the Word of God, being guided by the Holy Spirit helps us to understand God’s will, and be able to do it when we are yielded to him. Praying helps us align with God’s will as an integral part of our lives:

• Believe in God’s only begotten Son as our Lord and Savior (John 6:29; John 3:16).
• Become like Jesus Christ (Romans 8:29).
• Proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ that others may be saved (Mark 16:15-10).
• Love the Lord with all your heart, and your neighbor as yourself (Luke 10:27; John 14:15; John 17:17).
• Seek first the kingdom of  God and its righteousness, and all else will be added to you—food, clothing, shelter and other things you need and want Matthew 6:33; Psalm 37:4).
• Realize we can do nothing without God; but with him we can do all things ((John 15:5; Philippians 4:13).

WHEN WE SHOUD PRAY

Jesus said, we “ought always to pray” (Luke 18:1)—Pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:16). Meditate on the Lord and his word day and night  (Psalm 1:2). Jesus began his day of  pray early in the morning (Mark 1:35).  Communicating with God when we start our day is a way of giving him first place. And in so doing he will help us navigate through our day. We ought to start to pray early in the day, and continue to communicate with God all day. God wants to be first in our lives and involved in everything that we think and do (Psalm 19:14; Philippians 4:8; Colossians 3:17).

WHERE WE SHOULD PRAY

Jesus would pray in a solitary place, early in the morning. The Lord said, when you pray, pray to your Father in secret (Matthew 6:6).  And do not pray so others can see you, nor use vain repetition to impress others (Matt. 6:7). However, praying in the right Spirit, two or more may agree in prayer on something they desire of God, and God will honor this prayer (Matt. 18:19-20; 1 John 5:15; Acts 2:1).

HOW WE SHOULD PRAY

Jesus prayed and yielded to God’s will. The human part of the God-man Jesus agonized over going to the cross, dying a hellish death and being forsaken by God. In the garden of Gethsemane Jesus prayed three times, asking God if there was any other way possible for the salvation of the world to be accomplished. When it was clear to Jesus that God’s will was for him to go to the cross, Jesus said: “not my will, but yours be done.” (Matthew 26:36-46).

Jesus is our primary example of how we should submit to doing God’s will.  However, after Jesus’ resurrection from the dead, he chose Paul, a member of his body of believers, to be an example of following and suffering for the Lord (Acts 9:16).  Paul was given many gifts and much knowledge about the things of God to help him carry out the Lord’s assignment. 

To keep Paul from being prideful and ineffective in serving the Lord and his people, God gave him “a thorn in the flesh.” Paul prayed and asked God three times to remove the thorn. The Lord did not remove it; but told him, “my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:6-10). By the grace and power of God, Paul suffered many things for the sake of the Lord and his people—being ship wrecked three times, imprisoned, stoned, beaten and left for dead, and other sufferings; all while establishing churches and ministering to the needs of the Lord’s people. (2 Corinthians 11:23-31; 2 Timothy 2:10). 

REALIZE OUR SUFFICIENCY IS OF GOD

Realizing that his sufficiency was of God and not of himself, Paul prayed and thanked God for giving him strength and considering him trustworthy in appointing him to the Lord’s service (1 Timothy 1:12). Accepting the responsibility the Lord had given him, Paul humbly appealed to the church to follow his example, as he followed the example of  Christ (1 Corinthian 11:1). But recognizing that he is a worker together with other members of the body of Christ, Paul asked the church-body to pray for him that God might continue to empower him to do God’s will (Colossians 4:2-4). 

As God gifted and empowered Paul to mirror the image of Jesus, God gives each of us gifts and the potential to reflect Christ, while serving his people (1 Corinthians 12:1-11). ). When we pray to God about his particular will for us, the Spirit enlighten us by the Word of God concerning our particular gifts and how we might use them for God. And when we are yielded to his will, he empowers and use us for his glory. How ready are you to pray and use your God-given  gift(s) to do our heavenly Father’s will?