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prayerThrough prayer, God is able right now to meet YOUR every need ? no matter how big a mountain or deep a valley. He?s not limited to, nor bound by, your present situations or circumstances. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever more. What He did in the Bible then, He will do for you now! He will never turn you away! All you have to do is run to him ? with every need! He loves for you to come to Him. God proves this great love in scripture after scripture? ?Draw nigh unto me, and I will draw nigh unto you? (James 4:8), ?In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee: for thou wilt answer me.? (Psalms 86:7) ??and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.? (John 6:37) Read also II Chronicles 7:14 above. What precious promises of God!
But there is more to prayer time than having to rely on God just for emergency situations. There are many people who want to pray, but don?t experience the power of prayer because they don?t understand the true purpose of prayer time with God. They pray only out of a sense of obligation, thinking it is something that they are just ?supposed? to do. Or they only pray when an emergency arises or a tragedy strikes. No! Your PRAYER TIME is so much more! Prayer Time with God is about getting to know God, spending time with Him alone and building a PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP between you and God, the Creator of the Universe, and delighting in fellowship with Him.
Passionately pursuing God is being desperate for God! We become desperate for God when we recognize that we desperately NEED God and WANT God. Men today that do not pray, do not pray because they are not desperate for God! When we are not desperate for God, we are telling God, "Lord, I can do this without you." We have to realize that without Him, we can do nothing. When we are desperate for God, we will MAKE time to pray and seek Him with all of our heart and soul and say, "Lord, I can't do this without you."
Your prayer life is the "backbone" of your Christian walk with God. Therefore, you must realize that you are only as strong as your prayer life. You can't lean on, nor rely on, someone else's prayer life or experience with God. YOU must establish your own passionate pursuit after God in YOUR prayer time and in YOUR building of a PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP with Jesus Christ!
The Prayer Time Ministries web site is designed to help YOU become someone who passionately pursues God and to inspire YOU to develop and grow a dedicated, consecrated, disciplined prayer life whereby you will not only be able to call upon Him in the day of your trouble, but to truly build a PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP with God where you can proclaim as Paul did in Philippians 4:10, ?That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable to his death." When you develop this kind of a PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP with God, you will LEARN to DEPEND on Him, every need you have will be met and you will be filled with His spirit and His power in such a way that you will never hunger or thirst in famine again!
?Lord, teach us to pray,? is what the disciples asked Jesus 2000 years ago. It is still a very popular request of His disciples of today. Even after 2000 years of messages and teachings on prayer, Christians are still saying, ?We don?t know how to pray.? Even though it is assumed that Christians automatically know how to pray, and that it should be ?automatic? with Christians, we know that this is simply not the case. But, Praise God! It?s never too late to start praying! This web page will offer some practical insight to help you grow in an intimate PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP with God and develop a passionate pursuit after God in YOUR prayer life.
The kind of prayer I?m talking about has to do with intimacy with God ? aloneness with Him. It?s about developing a ?habit? of prayer. You are only as strong as your prayer life. Your prayer life is the "backbone" of your Christian walk with God. You will develop this "habit" of prayer when you realize that you cannot lean on someone else's prayer life or experience in God. You may have a great pastor or evangelist, and I sincerely pray that you do. But, you can't ride their "coat tails." You must establish YOUR own prayer life and PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP with Jesus Christ! And in turn, you will enhance and support their ministry a lot more effectively.
While there are numerous types of prayer, I preach about two ?prayer times? that are very important to a Christian?s walk with God. One ?prayer time? experience is two or more people praying together. Everyone should go to prayer meetings in their local church or local area to join in the power of prayer. If you can?t find one, try to start one. However, EVERYONE can find prayer time ALONE with the Lord every day, anytime of the day!
No one would argue that being active in the service of God is very important. Pastoring a church, being in the ministry of a church, being a missionary, being a worship leader, serving on committees and developing programs that help the church carry out it?s mission is vital. But we tend to be so busy and activity-oriented in our service to the Lord that we often forget that that the purpose, the very heart, of Christianity is a PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP with the person of Jesus Christ. This daily PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP experience often takes a back seat to our Christian service to the Lord. I truly believe that restoring this prayer time experience will ignite our fire and passion for the Lord, rejuvenate us spiritually and enable us to carry on our Christian service to the Lord with a passionate pursuit none less than the believers in the Bible had!
Again, I do not want to minimize the power of unity in prayer ? two or more saints praying together. I preach many messages on the power of unity and of prayer in unity. However, this particular web page is for those who want to develop a PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP-building prayer time. This is for anyone and everyone ? no matter what church or denomination you are associated with. I strongly believe, as much as anyone, in supporting your local church wherever you are. What?s MOST important though, is not what church we attend, but what kind of PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP we have with the Father!
If you only trust in Christ and don?t spend time with Him, at best, you only know of Him. But if you spend time with Him, you will KNOW HIM! You will know what He likes and dislikes. You will know what pleases Him and what does not please Him. You will LEARN to DEPEND on God, and trust God, instead of man and instead of yourself. You will learn as you develop your prayer life that you must die out to self. You must crucify the flesh and your will.
He will turn your confusion into peace. He will turn your lack of knowledge into understanding. ?For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.? (I Corinthians 14:33) You will lean on the arm of flesh less and less and lean on the arm of the Lord more and more! You will begin to talk like Him, act like Him and put on the very nature of Christ ? all through spending time with Him. If this is what you are hungering and thirsting for?read on. Below are some practical ideas to help get you started:
The Daily Search for Sin and Forgiveness
Search your heart and ask the Lord to reveal any sin in your life which may be hindering your prayers or which may be causing your prayer life to be less than it should be. If you are honest and sincere in your search, God WILL show you any sin or any area of your life that does not please Him. ?Repent, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; and he shall send Jesus Christ, which was before preached to you.? (Acts 3:19-20) So, ask for His forgiveness and move on, and know that the sin is not only forgiven, but forgotten.
If you have any trespasses against ANYONE, you MUST sincerely forgive them. ?For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.? (Matthew 6:14-15) You cannot go to God in prayer asking Him to forgive you if you do not first forgive others. You cannot move forward in an intimate PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP with God unless you sincerely forgive others -- no matter what they have done to you! This means that YOUR heart has to be changed whether other's hearts are changed or not. Then, and only then, can you live peaceably with others and within yourself. "Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." (Ephesians 4:31-32)
Spend More Time With God Alone
Spend more time seeking to know the Lord in prayer time alone, in your secret closet ? just you and God EVERY DAY. Don?t just come to Him with shopping lists, but loving and worshiping Him. Minister to the Lord pouring out your heart and soul to Him. Just like, on a human level, when you are growing in love with another person, you want to spend more and more time with that person. So it is with building a PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP with God, your heavenly Father. The more you love Him, the more time you will spend with Him. The more time you spend with Him, the more time you will love Him. The more time you spend with Him, the more you will be changed by Him and become like Him!
Below are four practical suggestions for ?starting? and getting the most out of you prayer time alone with God. They are only suggestions and perhaps a starting point to empower your personal prayer time. I confidently state that once you start praying like this alone with God, you won?t need anyone to teach you how to pray anymore. However, because so many people do request help on how to ?start? this type of prayer time, I offer my suggestions for whatever help they may be.
Shut the Door So You are Truly Alone
?But THOU, when THOU prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray.? (Matthew 6:6) This does not necessarily mean an actual closet, but it could be one. It does mean that when you go into your secret closet ? anywhere you get alone with God ? don?t start praying until you have shut the door. Shut the door literally if you have to. The goal is to shut out every distraction. This is your time ALONE with God. This is quality, chosen time where you will yearn after Him, seeking Him and fellowshipping with Him.
Worship the Lord in Praise and Adoration
"I will praise thee with my whole heart: before the gods will I sing praise unto thee. I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name. In the day when I cried thou answeredst me, and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul.? (Psalms 138:1-3) After shutting yourself in your secret closet with God, start your prayer time by just worshipping and loving Him. Tell Him how much you love him and thank Him for another opportunity to get alone with Him. Don?t pray about anything right now. Don?t pray about any needs right now. Don?t let your focus be on material things. God knows what your needs are! This is your intimate, ALONE time with your Father from heaven! Sometimes, you may want to just start off singing to Him and praising Him to enter in. David did this many times. You may want to start off reading in the book of Psalms.
This is a most important part of prayer time with God! Many Christians today do not enter God?s presence with delight, or simply for the pleasure of His company and communion. Some think of it as just ?work? ? labor and effort. But when you really LOVE Jesus, you will DELIGHT in your prayer time with Him!
?Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.? (Psalms 37:4) Delight simply means that you would rather be with Jesus than anyone else! You would rather spend time with Him than in anything else. God is your delight!
Pray for the Needs Upon Your Heart
"But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.? (Deuternomy 4:29) After you have entered in to the presence of the Lord through worship and praise and thanksgiving to God, telling Him how much you love Him, begin to pray as the Spirit would lead you. Pray about the needs of others upon your heart. Pray for your pastor. Pray for your church. Pray for your family. Pray for others.
You are not to just intercede for things you need, but to ask for the things God desires! Remember as you pray, that God already knows your needs, and you still want to pray for your needs ? but the primary focus is on fellowshipping with God and praying for the needs of others! As you pour out to others, God will pour into you. As you build your PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP with Jesus Christ, He will meet all of your needs and you will never have a lack!
Be Still and Listen
This is probably the most important part of your prayer time ALONE with God! After you have prayed your heart out to God -- after you have sought the Lord with all your heart ? BE STILL AND LISTEN. Many Christians don?t listen to God. They only go to Him to talk! Yet the Bible clearly tells us over and over that anyone who was ever used of God learned to remain in His presence until hearing from Him. He wants to give you answers, directions and guidance. He wants to ANSWER your prayers! Some Christians don?t believe God can or will speak, but God?s Word says, ?My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.? (John 10:27)
There are many voices in the land today, and it is hard to distinguish which voice is of the Lord and which one is not. However, the more time spent with Jesus, the more you will learn His voice. The only way to learn and to distinguish Jesus? voice is to learn the Word of God and spend time with Him ? often! ?And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow; but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.? (John 10:4-5)
Spend More Time Getting to Know God in and Through His Word
Praise God! Jesus is the living Word of God! When you are shut in with God in prayer, the Spirit of God will always lead you to God?s revealed Word. He will build up your faith by feeding you from God?s Holy Word, the Bible ? even while you are in your secret closet. As a matter of a fact, there is no greater place to begin your prayer time experience with the Lord than in the pages of His Word. God?s Word will no longer be just a good story ? it will speak to YOU directly!
Just remember that learning the Word of God is in addition to spending time alone with the Lord building your PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP with Him. I caution you here only because so many Christians mistakenly spend all their time "studying" the Word of God and spend NO time with the author of the Word. The Pharisees knew the scripture inside and out. They studied the Bible many hours EVERY day. But they did not have a relationship with the person of God. You want to spend time every day in the Word of God AND experience God in a PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP with Him.
Spend Time With Other People Who Love God and Love to Pray
Can you imagine what it would have been like to pray with Abraham, who made an altar to God everywhere he went? Or what about praying with David during his prayer time? How about praying with Ananias (who laid hands on Paul, then known as Saul)? Not only would you have learned a lot from them, but I am sure their passion would have been imparted to you as well. Look what happened in Acts 4:31, ?And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and spake the word of God with boldness.? How about the scripture,?Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.? (Matthew 18:19-20) Praise God! That?s the power of praying together. It is important to pray with other people and get in on prayer meetings. Find a church or prayer group that really prays the heavens down. Learn from others that pray often. Make it a point to pray with men and women who pray with a passion! Just remember, that prayer meetings and praying in prayer groups is in addition to your prayer time ALONE with God ? not a replacement for it!
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