It Is Prayer Time

Jesus said to you, “ought always to pray, and not to faint….”  Luke 18: 1

I don’t understand prayer. Jesus said to do it, so I do. Some say what is said to be an answer to prayer is simply coincident. I only know that when I pray coincidences happen.

A cause for a topic of prayer is not needed right now, just pick one from a smorgasbord of needs. We tend to pray when needs arise. If we prayed more, fewer needs would arise. So pray.

No one believes in prayer more than the devil, not that he practices it, but he suffers from it. We benefit from it, yet often neglect it. There are 953 references to prayer in the Bible. If the devil can obscure these or misdirect any one of these, he has succeeded in a vital way. Be not deceived. The devil is still endeavoring to pervert what God has provided. 

South African pastor Andrew Murray said, “We must begin to believe that God, in the mystery of prayer, has entrusted us with a force that can move the heavenly world, and can bring its power down to earth.” When you come to believe prayer is the means to linking with heaven to get things done on earth, there is a tendency to pray. Time spent in prayer is time invested in eternity. 

You can do more after you have prayed, but you cannot do more than pray until you have prayed.

An excuse for not praying is often not having time is a revelation of improper priorities. Set the alarm clock a few minutes earlier and spend time alone in prayer. We live in a close culture. We are with people or in the media that gives us a feeling of involvement. Therefore, being unaccustomed to being alone it is challenging to designate time to be alone with God in prayer.

        The following is a simple framework on which to frame your prayers. 

                                It is A-C-T-S.

Acclaim. That is, praise God from whom all blessings flow. Romance God.

Confess. Be honest to God. Name specifics for which you need forgiveness.

Thanksgiving. Count your many blessings, name them one by one.

Supplication. Ask God to supply your needs and those of others. It is good not only to pray for the needs of others, but it is also OK to pray for God to bless you real good. Let Him know the things for which you need Him to bless you.

The disciples did not ask Jesus how to pray, but to pray. We still need to follow His instructions and talk to the Lord more often.

A confidant saw Abraham Lincoln before a great fire place with his elbows on his knees, and his face in his hands, and heard him pray, “Oh God, Oh God help me, I cannot lead these people without your help. Without you.”

We all need to pray the first part of that prayer, “Oh God help me….

Remember. “The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.”  (James 5: 16 NLT)