Prayer Reset
Part I
“Draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:16
Every once in a while, I need a jump start to my prayer life, something to keep me on track. Sometimes I let things slide and I need encouragement to persevere. I need a prayer reset. You may be like me. If you can identify with me, I want to share a few thoughts that have helped me bring more consistency and fruitfulness to my daily time of focused prayer.
1) Priority
Prayer is important. It was a game changer for me when I realized that prayer really does change things. I mean my little feeble, not flowery or beautiful, but simple prayers can move the heart of God and change things. Taking the time to pray makes a difference. Jesus modeled the importance of prayer by often slipping away to get alone with His heavenly Father in prayer. If He needed that focused time, how much more do we? Paul knew the importance of prayer, he often asked for others to pray for him in his epistles. “Pray for us…and I urge you all the more to do this that I may be restored to you the sooner.” Hebrews 13:18-19. Paul knew the prayers of believers could change the future!
We know that God is sovereign and all-powerful. We know He can do whatever He wants, but for some reason He often limits Himself, waiting until we join Him in accomplishing His purposes on earth through prayer. It is humbling to think that God is waiting on our prayers. In fact, some things will never happen because we fail to pray. (No guilt, just pray!) “You do not have because you do not ask.” James 4:2. We need to ask. If we really grasped this truth we would never get off our knees! Make prayer a priority. Before you reach for your phone in the morning, have your time alone with the Lord.
2) Place
We can obviously pray everywhere we go and we should! But it is also a good idea to have a set place for daily prayer. I literally take the advice of Jesus and go into my closet. It is a place where I know I will not be interrupted. Ask the Lord, be creative, you will find the right place for prayer.
3) Position
I suggest you get on your knees to pray, who else do you kneel before when you talk with them? Kneeling demonstrates the honor we give the Lord and our humble place before Him. Jesus modeled kneeling in prayer when He prayed in Gethsemane. Paul modeled kneeling in prayer throughout his Epistles. “And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all.” Acts 20:36
Additional resources can be found here: https://subspla.sh/ftrcsyk
**For more steps to taking a “Prayer Reset,” check our next blog post scheduled to appear on Thursday, July 14th.
