10/28/11

More interesting things from the Vietnamese garden... this is a type of gourd.. or is it a melon?  Oh, goodness... I didn't write it down when my brother told me so that is why I can't remember. lol

 

More on prayer today.  Just know these are as much for me as to those of you reading!  The Lord knew I needed this!

".... be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer" (I Peter 4:7)

Have you made it a priority to have a flourishing prayer life?  Maintaining a powerful prayer life is a lifelong process that can only become richer and more meaningful as the years pass.  The development of a pattern of prayer is perhaps the most vital element of your communication with God.  Yes, we are to pray continually (I Thess. 5:17).  But we must also make every effort to reach for certain disciplines in our lives which will enable us to pray without ceasing.

• We must seek God (Matt. 6:33)
• We must worship God (Psalm 57:11)
• We must desire His Spirit (Ephesians 5:18)
• We must devour His Word (II Tim. 2:15)
• We must bask in His salvation (Psalm 1:2)
• We must pray (I Thess. 5:17)

Does your prayer invite God's Spirit?  Does it require an answer?  Does it honor God?  Does it praise God?

You won't always come to God as a soldier, combating the powers of evil.  You will have times when you will be broken, with a regretful, remorseful spirit.  God hears when you have those times of prayer, and He will honor your prayer.  The point is, no matter what condition you're in, you must make the time to pray.

The great prayer warrior, E. M. Bounds (1835-1913) wrote,  "We can curtail our praying and not realize the peril until the foundations are gone.  Hurried devotions make weak faith, feeble convictions, questionable piety.  To be little with God is to do little for God."

E. M. Bounds was known to spend three to four hours a day in fervent prayer.  David Smithers, an author who wrote about E. M. Bounds penned these words:  "Sometimes the venerable mystic would lie flat on his back and talk to God; but many hours were spent on his knees or lying face down where he could be heard weeping...."

While most of us cannot pray for three or four hours, we can at least set aside some time to pray.  This will give us the strength we need to accomplish all that God would have us to do.