Stretch
Jesus told His followers to pray and in Act 13 we see why. The power of God shows up when we pray. That is enough to motivate me to make prayer a consistent discipline in my life.
Acts 13:5 prayer for him was being made fervently by the church to God. The Greek adverb for fervently is ektenos and it is related to the medical term ektenes. This term describes the stretching of a muscle to its limits. It is the same word Luke uses about the Lord’s prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. The church knew what was at stake for Peter so they engaged in prayer and asked God to intervene. Because of their discipline and faith they experienced the power of God. Are you being stretched to your limits in prayer, or are you limiting your potential because you are not stretching at all?
It seems like I pray more now then I ever have… And more people are asking for prayers I have noticed which is a wonderful…prayer is a big part of my life now and I love it!
How often am I like the early disciples in this chapter as I pray but pray without believing. We often hear the phrase, “Pray like everything depends on God and work like everything depends on you.” That sounds good but I am not sure how Biblical it is. Somewhere faith is left out, dependence on God is lost and the expectation of the power of God at work in an amazing way is missing. The disciples were astonished that their prayers were answered in a miraculous way. I am surprised when my prayers are just answered. I often go through the motions of prayer, with the requisite trite phrases,knowing that God is there but believing he may be as bored with the exercise as I am. Living prayer asks for the impossible, believes that it will happen and expects little else. Would that I would pray that way.
Lately I have felt a greater urgency for prayer because of what God is doing at HarrahChurch. God is constantly surprising me with how He is working in the background to make things happen around here. It reminds me that I am not in control and that I must remember to pray that He would continue to do amazing things. The more I get out of the way and pray the more He seems to be showing up.
I think its important to remember that when you pray, you also have to be willing to open your heart, throw your concerns to faith in God, and allow him to work. I am in a tough situation today with another person. Ive prayed for a calm, forgiving heart. But it would do little good if I continued to resent the person, rather than allowing God to work and knowing the best will prevail in the end. Even if its not what I want.
Stretch me Lord and stretch me some more may my life be a song of prayer to you.
The nice thing about prayer is that the Lord knows when you don’t have the words to express what it is you need to say. My dad has Parkinson and has recently been diagnosed with dementia. We have had to take him out of his home and place him in a nursing home. This has always been his biggest fear. There are no words to express how this makes you feel even though you are not walking this path alone. It is so comforting to know that you can go to the Lord and he knows what it is you need to say without you having to say it.
Prayer to me means a lot of differnt things like a healer,something to think about,and also it creates a calm state of mind for me. My favorite part about prayer is that God listens to all of it.
I pray all the time, I remember I used to find it hard to pray..
But now I go to God about everything and it helps me with all of my struggles in life and brings me peace.