I would like to start off by welcoming my newest subscribers to my blog. I have some loyal followers since I began the blog over 7 years ago and some that have just started following the blog in the past couple of weeks. Thank you for all of your support. Please feel free to comment on any of the topics that I write about. Let me know what inspires you and what areas have affected your life along the way. This week, the topic is prayer.
What are your prayer habits? Do you have a set time each day? Do you have a set routine of what you pray about? I know some people that pray every morning at the same time and others that pray before they go to bed at night. They pray for things that they need, the health of others, thankfulness for the blessings in their lives, etc..
I was reading Matthew 6:7-8 that says “And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” I then remembered Philippians 4:6 that reminds me to “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God” There have still been times that I cannot sleep at night or get any real peace. It is not that I stress over situations, but I am not truly giving up my troubles to God.
Now, when I pray for others, I ask God to step in and provide for their needs. He may not give them better health and knows that they need comfort more than anything right now. I do not try to box God into a corner of what I feel is best for the situation. He knows first hand that my decisions over the years have not always been the best solutions for me and my own issues. Sometimes I feel as though I do not pray long enough or about enough things. The verse in Matthew tells me that I do not need all of those words. I need to open my heart up to the Lord and He will know what is on my mind and what I need.
I try to spend more time in my prayers of thankfulness. There are too many blessing all around us that we do not thank Him enough for. we get focused on what we do not have instead of what we have.
When we give God specific requests, it limits our ability to imagine the possibilities that He may have in store for us. The next few times that you pray, just let Him know the situation and ask for His guidance of what the future holds for you and what He needs you to do to follow His will. Trust in His plans instead of trying to get Him to sign off on ours.
If you trust in His plans, what is there to be anxious about? Nothing. Simply give it to the Lord. That’s why He says to pray; He means for us to tell Him what’s burdening our hearts and give it to Him so we can rest. He gives us permission (and commands us even) to stop thinking about our problems and let Him deal with them. When we do that, He gives us the peace.
Give me your thoughts on your prayer habits and how prayer has worked in your life. Thank you for being a part of mine.
Blessings,
Thomas
