To those of us who are called-out by God, it is easy to say, "I will pray for you." or "I'll keep you in prayer.". We tend to speak these words with peace and assurance, and they bring comfort to the hearts of those who listen to them. However, little is it known by many of the listeners, that these words carry a greater weight than the words themselves can bare. The act of prayer involves a set belief, discipline, commitment, heart, and guidance of the Holy Spirit ... And this is just for starters. As these people further develop their prayer regiment, they will face challenges, hardship, and at times, spiritual warfare ... That will work towards hindering the effectiveness of their expressed prayer. Yet, thanks be to God, Who sends His Spirit to "teach [us] all things, and bring to [our] remembrance all things that [Jesus] said to [us].", (John 14:26). "For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.", (Romans 8:26-27).
In my lifetime, as I have written before, the facet of prayer has been the one that has presented me with the most challenges. Among those challenges have been setting a time and keeping to it by which to spend time in prayer. Additionally, picking a place by which to pray, whether I express my prayer with an attitude of assurance or downright humility, it is the right place for where I may converse with God. Regarding God's Word, the Bible, I tend to stay within the spectrum of the familiar, yet it takes the leading of the Holy Spirit to guide me into the less known passages, or even taking a familiar passage and presenting it with a new perspective. Though I hold many resources of the Bible to help me in its understanding, none of them compare to the guidance that I receive from Holy Spirit. For it is He who directs, confronts, and explains to me so many things in accordance to the will of the Father; and this is good. Let Us Pray. Lord God, You Who are great and grand, I come before You right now and I thank You for the leading of Your Spirit in the composition of this selection, but more personally, for both the time of reflection and appreciation I have received in writing it. God, I ask that You to richly bless all the faithful and sincere prayer warriors; who stand at the front lines and intercede through prayer, not only for people whom they have come to know, but also for perfect strangers whom Your Spirit has impressed upon them to pray for and alongside them, in the spirit. Thank You for all of that You have done and continue to do. Amen. * NOTE * I have been inspired to write this selection after having gone through seven days of being sick from symptoms of a cold / flu; today marks my eighth day in coping with it, and improving on it. Up to this point, I have missed work without pay and struggled with its symptoms. Yet I have prayed and taken medications ... and taken medications and prayed. I am trusting God to help me get better soon and go back to work (at a Christian bookshop). Comments are closed.
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