Obey Me in this, Child.

‘Get my people praying . . . you have really only scratched the surface, Girl,’ I felt the Lord impress upon my heart, as I sought him about making a greater impact in Long Beach.   ‘Next steps will become clear, as you pray.’  “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”1  And so, I want us to rest here a moment. I wish I could just get your undivided attention on this matter—you see, if we could somehow grasp the all-important, all-powerful gift of communing with the God of the Universe, we would not only pray more, but we would see radical change all around us! 

When we bow our hearts in prayer, we ought to do so expectantly, knowing that God is meeting us.  ¨What you think when, in your mind’s eye, you see God listening to you—how you view him right then matters; Friends, we must think rightly about God! I agree with this powerful statement: "What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us,"2¨  Oh, we shall not fully understand God's character, or even His abiding love for us. . . but we must try!

God is wild about you; He thinks you are delightful; He says you have been fearfully and wonderfully made. You might notice that your biceps aren't as big as they were when you were 23, while your waist size is bigger than it was at 30--but He doesn't. He is interested in you, at your core. . .  your heart, your soul, and your mind.  It is one of the greatest mysteries in this life to contemplate just what his love for us might mean, if only we could grasp it. Unfortunately, we have let others be the 'keeper of the keys' as to our worth, and let others interpret God's character to us, instead of investigating it on our own, searching out Scripture, and pouring ourselves into developing an ever-deeper experiential relationship with him.  [please reread that paragraph again—out loud]

Christian, how long has it been since you cried out to God?  How long has it been since you hit your knees? 

His storehouses are limitless, his attention so individual, and his desire to talk with us in prayer incredible! You know, Scripture tells us God 'will sing over us with his love'. (Zephaniah 3.17) Go ahead. . . top that!  Nothing in this world comes close to the importance of God’s great love for us.

Creating order in our prayer time is a way of feeling more complete, more thorough—more organized in thought, and less given to distraction.   One of folks’ frustrations with their prayer time is feeling as though it is always, ‘Lord, please do this, or give me that, or…’  From a message I delivered to a high school group about 13 years ago entitled, "How to skin A CAT", I developed the acronym A.C.A.T.

A is for Adoration - taking a moment to start your prayer by giving God his 'due', praising him for who he is. 

C is for Confession - searching your self, and allowing God to also show anything you need to confess and turn away from

A is for Asking - for your needs--and also interceding for the needs of others

T is for thanking God for his good gifts to you--for your health, God's Word, Heaven, your spouse, your children, your job, sunshine, hope, grace, forgiveness, mercy, new days. . . you get the idea.

When I am able, I like to write my prayers in a spiral notebook, using this grid to stay focused--I am present with my pen, and my mind is not as apt to wander. The notebook also serves as a record of God's unending faithfulness in my life. Now, if you like to pray in your car--perhaps you could put the four words on a post-it note and put it on your dashboard, turn off your radio, and pray out loud. This is not to make you feel regimented, but to give you the freedom to pray about all that is in your life, without getting lost or distracted. Plus, with the advent of the 'blue tooth', while you are praying, folks will just assume you are talking on the phone--so go ahead, pour out your heart and mind to God.

God longs to hear your prayers, and be with you.  He invites you to bring all to him.  ‘Pray without ceasing', Friends.  Obey him in this.

Christine

 1 – Jeremiah 29.13

2 – A.W. Tozer