Prayer is the breath of our spiritual life. A Christian life without prayer is like not breathing and expecting to continue to live. Prayer is our lifeline to God, it is something we, as Christians, must do regularly, even as often as we take in air. A wise man once said, “… Prayer is the breath of a newborn soul, and there can be no life without it.” Many people speak of having a “prayer life” as casually as they speak of breathing, but it isn’t just some structure or form of our spiritual life, but the thing we do which keeps our life in Christ going. It is a lifestyle, not just a “thing” we do.
There are many advantages of living under the banner of God’s love, one of those wonderful benefits is answered prayer. In Matthew 16:9-13, Jesus outlines how to pray and what to pray. In prayer we acknowledge God’s sovereign fatherhood when we say, “Our Father, who is in heaven.” We get to praise Him by name for His name represents His nature, we praise His very being when we say “Your Name is holy, sacred and set apart” or “Hallowed be Thy name.”
In our time of prayer we use that time for confession, repentance or the pursuit of the path home, forgiveness …. and asking God for His grace in our relationships with other people; our forgiveness of others goes hand in hand with God’s forgiveness for us. Psalms 103:3 “Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies”. If we expect our prayers to be answered, one of the keys is that we forgive others, as seen in the words of Jesus in Luke 6:37 “…Forgive, and you will be forgiven”. Probably, one of the most powerful prayers anyone could give voice to is one word to God, “help”. And we can’t be rethinking His answer. Many times we ask the Lord a question, what He said was “not now”, but we rethink it to meaning “no”. Friends, not “no”, but “not now”. Be patient and listen for the rest of the story from Him. Easier said than done, but it is wisdom,
Through prayer we align with God and He keeps us on the path of His kindness and purposes, keeping us in His power and anointing, and defends us from evil. He answers our prayers for help and in Him we find “lovingkindness and our fortress, He is my high tower and my deliverer, My shield and the One in whom I take refuge” (Psalm 144:2).
We are guaranteed God will hear us and will answer us in 1 John 5:14,15, “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.” In John 14:14, Jesus said, “If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.”
In Psalm 86:7, David said, “In the day of my trouble I will call upon You, For You will answer me.” This is still true for us today. He may not answer right when we want Him to, but He WILL answer.
Answered prayer, our petitions we hold up before the Lord will be and are addressed. It is a feature of our relationship with God Almighty that is completely unique within any, ANY system of belief. The universe doesn’t answer people’s questions. It has no voice, no eyes, no ears, no compassion, no mercy, no judgment, no purpose, no dreams, no ideas, no personality. The universe is deaf, blind, and dumb with no ability to rescue you in your time of need, But. God, our God, not only does give us hope, mercy, purpose, dreams, ideas, hearing and seeing, He has all those things and more. His listening ears are always listening, and He even answers our prayers. These are a few of the things God gives to us His children, with abundance.
- Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
That calls me from a world of care,
And bids me at my Father’s throne
Make all my wants and wishes known.
In seasons of distress and grief,
My soul has often found relief,
And oft escaped the tempter’s snare,
By thy return, sweet hour of prayer!
If you ask God, He will answer. Test Him out, talk to Jesus, He has exactly what you need. The Lord will always act in your best interest, He will hear you when you call, and He will answer.
i’m Social Porter for Living In His Name Ministries.