Wesley L. Duewel: "Prayerlessness is also a sin against your own spiritual life. You cannot grow in grace when you neglect prayer.
You cannot develop a close walk with Jesus if you do not frequently commune with Him. You cannot share His heartbeat if you seldom intercede with Him.
Prayerlessness robs you of the consciousness of the near presence of Jesus. It robs you of the awareness of the smile on His face, of the blessedness of listening to His voice.
It robs you of the touch of his hand upon you and of much of His guidance. It robs you of His power.
Prayerlessness is all the more serious sin against yourself, since prayer is so blessedly simple. All you need to do to learn to pray is to pray.
It is so spiritually natural that new Christians almost begin to pray without being taught. Even little children can easily learn a very real, personal and satisfying prayer life as they talk to Jesus.
A Sin Against God
We may call prayerlessness a weakness, being so busy and preoccupied that we neglect what we know we should do. We may make many excuses, but God calls it disobedience. That is sin against God.
Prayerlessness is not only a direct sin against others, it is a direct sin against God Himself (1 Sam. 12:23). Jesus told us that we 'should always pray and not give up' (Luke 18:1.
Forsyth has said that for the Christian, 'the worst sin is prayerlessness.' (Bloesch, Struggle of Prayer, p.132). Why? Because it shows our indifference and disobedience to God.
Prayerlessness is an evidence of what our attitude is to
God. It is a kind of unfaithfulness and lovelessness.
(Murry, Ministry of Intercession, p. 24).
Our relation with God is not what it should be if we do not love him enough to find time to get alone and listen and talk to Him. Prayerlessness proclaims to God and to Satan that our relation to Jesus is not very loving and close.
Adequate relation to Jesus always includes prayer—both the desire and the actual practice."
(Google image and my emphasis added)
 Used by permission of the author and Duewel Literature Trust, Inc., Greenwood, Indiana
Mighty Prevailing Prayer
#18 A Sin Against Your Own Spiritual Life
by Wesley L. Duewel
(pp. 32, 33) Zondervan
Let's pray..
Father, forgive us for being so busy and preoccupied that we've neglected to do what we should do to develop a close walk with Jesus through daily prayer.
May our efforts bring us into the blessedness of listening to His voice.
Let my attitude be a loving relationship with
You, so others will be drawn to You.
I ask this in the precious Name of Jesus. Amen.
Today’s quote: "The only way we can withstand the world's clamor, the devil's whispers, and our own selfish desires is by immersing ourselves tin the Word of God. We must focus our attention on knowing the heavenly Father in all of His fullness, believing His promises, and obeying His commands. Only through our relationship with Jesus Christ will we be able to fight the battle against sin and stand firm.
Clear your mind of any distractions, and allow the Lord to speak to you through His Word. He has much to tell you." (p. 31 of IN TOUCH Daily Readings for Devoted Living - Feb. 2016)
Our thought today: There's a constant conversation going on in our minds. We need to shift over to thoughts that are positive, so the negative ones will be replaced and ignored.
Our question today: What can you do to replace the thoughts that cause you disturbance and doubts?
Answer: Read the Bible with a desire for God to speak to you what His thoughts are, as His are higher than ours, and are full of life and peace. (see Jer. 29:11-13).
Today’s Bible verse: Ps. 33:18-21 "Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy; To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine. Our soul waiteth for the LORD: he is our help and our shield, for our heart shall rejoice in him, because we have trusted in his holy name."
|
Hang In There
20th- Saturday’s post by Max Lucado
Benefits of Reading the Bible
21st- Sunday evening's post by Jean Oathout
#19 You will Regret Prayerlessness
23rd- Tuesday's post by Wesley L. Duewel
#20 We can be Saved from Prayerlessness
25th- Thursday's post by Wesley L. Duewel
 A popular post: Habits of a Healthy Mind David
McCasland tells us: "There is much said today about improving our health by developing habits of optimism, whether facing difficult medical diagnosis or a pile of dirty laundry."
|
|
Used by permission of the author and Duewel Literature Trust, Inc., Greenwood, Indiana
No comments:
Post a Comment