John 15: 16
Hello Friend,
Last week I wrote to you about Daniel. He was steadfast in his faith and prayed three times a day. I challenged you to contemplate your own prayer life and to think about how you may (or may not) be taking that freedom for granted.
Sometimes we think it is too difficult to pray. If you are frustrated in your prayer life and wondering whether your prayers are really effective, then cry out from your heart, “Lord, teach me to pray.”
Prayer is simple. It is nothing more than talking and listening to a friend. In teaching us to pray, God deals with us as individuals with unique personalities, diverse temperaments, and different ways of communicating. We need to be careful not to compare ourselves with others and to just be ourselves and let him teach us to pray. Being a friend of God—and all that entails—is the key to effective prayer. Developing a great friendship with God takes time and energy, but it is the best investment of time and energy we can possibly make.
And God will answer your prayers! However, look at the complete wording of verse 16 above. “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit-fruit that will last. Then, the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. You and I are to be committed disciples who make a difference in our family, workplace, neighborhood, even the world, and THEN, God will give you whatever you ask. God is not playing, Let’s Make A Deal. He needs us to be his hands and feet in a hurting world. And then, God’s rewards our faithfulness. Isn’t God wonderful!
Prayer: Lord make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me so love. Where there is injury, pardon. Where there is doubt, Faith. Amen
Committed to deepening my prayer life. Are you? Linda