Right after Jesus commends Mary for choosing to sit at Hisfeet to worship in Luke 10, in Luke 11:1-14 He teaches His disciples aboutprayer. God created us to worship Him and commune with Him. Worship isrecognizing Who God is and ascribing to Him His worth! It is acknowledging ourneed for Him as the only One Who can meet every need we have in our life! AndGod has given us the avenue of prayer to enter into His presence and ask Him tomeet those needs.
The first mention that I can find in the Bible about prayeris in Genesis 4:25-26;“And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son andnamed him Seth, "For God has appointed another seed for me instead ofAbel, whom Cain killed." And as for Seth, to him also a son was born; andhe named him Enosh. Then men began to call on the name of the LORD.”
“Then men began to call on the name of the LORD.”Whenis then? It is right after the first murder in the human race took place. Cainkilled his brother Abel and shortly afterwards God gave Adam and Eve anotherson, named Seth, who also has a son named Enosh. “Then”, immediately “men”began to pray and call on the name of the LORD for mercy and help! The worldwas already in a mess!
Years ago, I’ll never forget reading a book on prayer by anauthor named Ole Hallesby. He wrote that:"Prayer is not using God for our own means but rather prayer isdependence, openness, trust, and listening." Basically, what I remember best,is his simple statement about prayer: “True prayer is a sense of helplessness”.
If you asked me why people or Christians don’t pray likethey should, I would answer that it is because they don’t think they need topray. We are getting along just fine without praying, and we make excuses bysaying we don’t have time to pray because we are so busy. But when we areoverwhelmed with a tragedy or a problem beyond our ability to deal with, we pray,or we ask others to pray for us. I’ve often said that there are no atheists infox holes!
The real truth is that we desperately need God, His mercy,His grace, His love, His protection, His provision and His help every moment ofour lives! If only we really realize this!
Over the years, one of the things I have done to remind meof this is to memorize verses on prayer like:
2 Chronicles 7:14-15:“If My people whoare called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, andturn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgivetheir sin and heal their land. Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentiveto prayer made in this place.”
Jeremiah 33:3:“Call to Me and I willanswer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.”
Matthew 7:7-8:"Ask, and it willbe given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. "Foreveryone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks itwill be opened.”
Ephesians 3:20:“Now to Him who is ableto do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to thepower that works in us”.
The Bible is full of prayer promises! Read and memorize them!
I also regularly read good books and devotionals on prayerby praying people like:
Dr. Elmer Towns: “Praying the Lord’s Prayer for SpiritualBreakthrough”
Andrew Murray: “With Christ in the School of Prayer” –Also: “Intercessory Prayer” and “God’s Best Secrets”
Every morning for the past four years I have been using a one-minutedevotional by E.M. Bounds called: “The Power of Prayer” –published by ChristianArt Publishers.
Reading these verses and books is like “priming the pump”for my prayer life! The Holy Spirit and God’s Word comes alive, and I love thetime in prayer with the Lord!
Do you sense your helplessness and your need for the Lord today?
God bless!
