Prayer
Developing Our Prayer Habits
Psalm 143:8
Let me hear Your lovingkindness in the morning;
For I trust in You; Teach me the way in which I should walk; For to You
I lift up my soul.
NASB
While it is easy to "list" the suggested rules for a good prayer life, our prayer habits are nothing more than a portion of our developed discipleship discipline. As with other parts of our spiritual walk, we need to understand the basic concepts of a good set of prayer habits and then work on developing them within our own personal framework.
Prayer is the companion to Bible study and devotions. The two disciplines go hand-in-hand. We cannot begin to understand the Bible without the help of God. Our lines of communication to God with our requests for wisdom come through prayer. The application of the disciplines we learn as we study and meditate start with prayer. Why?
Our hearts are quickened and
we "hear better" when we study God's Word.
Luke 24:32 They said to each other, "Didn't our
hearts feel strangely warm as he talked with us on the road and explained
the Scriptures to us?" NLT
The Word of God helps to teach
us about God and His ways.
Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path.
NLT
God's Will is made clear in Scripture. To know God and to know His Will requires study and prayer.
To accomplish this prayer and
study time, we need to develop a set time and place, our "secret
closet" where we will not be disturbed.
Psalm 5:3 Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord.
Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.
NLT
We need to become comfortable,
however, with the idea of praying any time and any place, over any circumstance.
In the words of Paul,
"Keep on praying". (1 Thessalonians
5:17, NLT)
We need to understand that God will answer our prayers and we need to be willing to accept those answers as being in the Will of God. God will expose via our prayer life, His Word, and by means of other Christians, His Will for our lives. We need to understand this and be ready to act upon it.
Most importantly, we simply need to start praying, no matter how poor it may seem to us, and keep at it -- day, after day, after day, for the rest of our natural lifetime.
