Prayer

A little boy was kneeling beside his bed with his mother and grandmother and softly saying his prayers, “Dear God, please bless Mummy and Daddy and all the family and please give me a good night’s sleep.”

Suddenly he looked up and shouted, “And don’t forget to give me a bicycle for my birthday!!”

“There is no need to shout like that,” said his mother. “God isn’t deaf.”

“No,” said the little boy, “but Grandma is.”

Wikipedia states that prayer is the following:

Prayer (from the Latin precari “to ask earnestly, beg, entreat”) is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication.

Well, that sounds great for the world but we see it as so much more. Sure it’s to invoke rapport but to something way more than just an object of worship. It’s literally talking to the creator of the world, the God of the universe, and the lover of our souls. We can’t minimize its impact in our lives.

Jeremiah states in 29:12 “Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you.”

That’s about as clear as scripture can make it. We serve a God that listens and reacts to our prayers. I believe I saw it work just last week. My family, after many years of not spending Christmas, had an amazing time together. I was so thankful for that answered prayer.

Many of you that read this already understand the power of prayer. Let me encourage you in two areas today.

1) Be patient in prayer. We are a society of “now’s”. Do we believe that God’s timing is better than ours? If so just chill out for a bit. Let God be God. You will be amazed by the outcome.

2) Find a quiet place to pray. Many times we can’t hear God because of all the noise.

But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. Matthew 6:6

I am so encouraged by all of you. It’s a New Year! Don’t look back. You are not going that way!