Our Lord has the authority to teach, and He Himself is Example as well as Instructor. There is no appeal beyond Him. Having besought Him to teach us how to pray, we surrender mind and heart to His teaching and yield all to the discipline of loyal and believing obedience. (Google image, Lord, teach us to pray )
What does our Lord teach us as to prayer?
One of the first things He commands is that there shall be a place of prayer. It is quite true that the whole earth is the Lord's, and that there is no place where prayer may not be heard. God wills that men should pray everywhere.
Wherever we may be, He is nigh at hand and not afar off, and wherever there is a praying heart, the soul finds the sanctuary of God. No one would suggest that Jesus did not appreciate the sacredness of all the earth—which He said was the footstool of God—but it was His habit to withdraw into a solitary place to pray.
He needed the fenced spaces of silence. To His disciples He said:
"And when ye pray, ye shall not be as the hypocrites: for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men.
Verily I say unto you, They have received their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thine inner chamber, and having shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret, and thy Father which seeth in secret shall recompense thee: (Matt. 6:5-6).
Why does He insist upon this inner chamber and the closed door? The first reason is that the first quality God requires in prayer is reality. Hypocrites never pray in secret. Prayers that are a pretense require an audience.
They are intended to be heard of men, and they have their reward in skill of phrasing, a show of earnestness, and a reputation for piety. These things do not count with God. They cannot live in His presence. Prayer is between the soul and God alone.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
By Samuel Chadwick
(Click on book title to buy)
Let's pray-
Father, as disciples, we are to seek wisdom from respected teachers, and have a teachable spirit.
As Jesus is the Instructor and Example for us, we're to surrender our minds and hearts to His teaching, yielding our all to the discipline of loyal and believing obedience.
One of the first things He commanded was that we should create a place of prayer. He wants us to be free to pray anywhere and everywhere.
As He is nigh at hand and not afar off, wherever there is a praying heart, the soul can find Your sanctuary. We are in need of solitary places to pray, fenced spaces of silence, much like Jesus did.
Help us see that You insist upon this inner chamber and the closed door, as praying is between us and You alone. You do not want us to be concerned with being heard by others, with any skill of phrasing, show of earnestness and our reputation for piety; these things do not count with You!
Father, enable us to get alone with You in "fenced spaces of silence," so we can connect with you in quality of faith, being sure that You'll hear and answer us.
In Jesus' name we pray. Amen
Our Scriptures for today:
Ps. 46:1, 10 (NKJV) "God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble. (v. 10) "Be still,
and know that I am God; I will be exalted among
the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!"
Mark 1:35 (NKJV) "Now in the morning, having
risen a long while before daylight, He (Jesus) went
out and departed to a solitary place; and there
He prayed."
by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.' "
The following is taken from Oswald Chamber’s Devotions for MORNING and EVENING:
“When thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and . . . pray to thy Father in secret” (Matt. 6:6).
Jesus did not say—Dream about thy Father in secret, but pray to thy Father in secret."
“When thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and . . . pray to thy Father in secret” (Matt. 6:6).
Jesus did not say—Dream about thy Father in secret, but pray to thy Father in secret."
Today's quotes-
~ Billy Graham- "The Bible says, 'You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you' (Acts 1:8). The world has never been more ripe for harvest then it is at this very hour. Our nations are undergoing an unprecedented search for purpose and meaning which God can use for good to turn individuals back to Him in repentance and faith. But we need Christ's power, the infilling of the Holy Spirit. If we are to have that power of the Spirit of God, we need to yield our lives unreservedly to Him."
~ Max Lucado- Worry Stoppers to Bring Peace
"Here are eight worry-stoppers, found in the letters of the word
P-E-A-C-E-F-U-L
P-E-A-C-E-F-U-L
Pray, first. “Casting the whole of your care upon Him . . . ”
Easy, now. “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him.”
Act on it. Be a doer, not a stewer.
Compile a worry list. Keep a list of things that trouble you. How many have turned into a reality?
Evaluate your worry categories. Pray specifically about them.
Focus on today. God meets daily needs daily.
Unleash a worry army. Ask a few loved ones to pray with you
and for you."
and for you."
Today's sermon spotlight-
JANUARY 27, 2019
Opportunity and Opposition
Speaker: Keith Tucci Series: Misc
Upcoming posts-
#10 The Silent Spaces of the Soul
7th- Thursday's post by Samuel Chadwick
Successful Families Don't Just Happen by Chance
9th- Saturday's post by Dr. James Dobson
12th- Tuesday's post by Samuel Chadwick
#12 The Inner Room and the Closed Door
14th- Thursday's post by Samuel Chadwick
Jean's blog (Click to see snippets of the 7 recent posts)
Helpful ways the Lord helped me in my marriage.
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