"A Journey Shared Part 7 - "More Musings on Prayer".








My last Blog was actually a bit thin on practical talk about how to get moving with the habit of daily prayer.



One thing I am sure of is that there is no template that we can devise which will suit everyone.
My first, and very obvious suggestion, is to take the first step:
1. Find a quiet place - with your Bible.
2. Some people play some quiet back ground music or light a candle.
3.Wait upon the Lord
4. Be still and clear the lines of communication. Pray for forgiveness of your sins and deviation for the path.
GET SELF OUT OF THE WAY! (God cannot fill you if you are full of yourself - remember!)
5. In the beginning I started by trying to achieve a fairly rigid structure, by using this acronym:

  A = Adoration
  C = Confession
  T = Thanksgiving
  S = Supplication

6. I found that after a few weeks, and reading quite a few more books my prayers began to take some rough shape around this basic foundation.
7. (The Big Step). I started writing it all down. Everything becomes more specific. It's all very well thinking that Christ knows what you want, but in writing down one specifically acknowledges that you need God. We acknowledge that we become a supplicant - and that doesn't come naturally to human nature. We prefer it the other way around - and therein lies one of the greatest hurdles of mans relationship with God.

"God knows what is best for you: Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you, not harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future." (It is with some caution that one must use the word 'prosper' here'. We need to be careful that we don't jump to the conclusion of being rich. God will give us with as much as we need. No more, no less as he illustrated by feeding Israel manna in the wilderness.)
This is one of the great lessons I am dealing with right now - we want way, way more than we need and the the very opposite applies to the poor and needy. (Another topic another day.)



For anyone interested in getting stuck into some meaningful reading here are a few books on my list;

The Complete Works of E. M. Bounds - E. M. Bounds
Prayer - The Great Adventure - David Jeremiah
Prayers for our Lives - Mel Lawrenz
Prayer - A. W. Tozer
Lord, Teach us to Pray - Andrew Murray
Prevailing Prayer - D. L. Moody



A month or so ago I came across this image of a book about to be published.

"The Real Owners of the Planet".


It got me thinking...and it does provide some good discussion points. Next time.




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