Thoughts for Life: #117 How To Invest Your Prayer Time

Dr. Wesley L. Duewel- God may direct you to vary your methods of prayer from time to time. Trust the Holy Spirit to guide you. However, the following suggestions may be helpful.

1. Begin your prayer time with joyful worship. Psalm 100:4 exhorts us to enter God's presence with thanksgiving and praise. Take time to thank God for who He is, for his love and other attributes, for His leaving heaven to come to earth, for His loving deeds, for His death and resurrection, for His goodness to you, for His beautiful creation, for your Christian friends, and for church. (Google image, man with Bible)

The word pictures in the Book of Revelation suggest that the angels, other heavenly beings, and God's saints sing also (Rev. 4:8-11; 5:6-7:9-12; 14:2-3; 15:2-4; 19:1-7) God loves singing. There were singing and rejoicing in heaven before there was a human being on earth (Job 28:7).

God Himself is pictured as singing with joy over us or perhaps with us (Zeph. 3:17) God created birds, men, and angels to sing. You give joy to the heart of God when you sing His praises, whether audibly or in your heart.

Some of the great hymns of the church are hymns of praise. You will want to memorize some of the verses and choruses to use from time to time in your daily prayer times. I have found that my heart begins to thrill with joy as I near the place and time for special prayer. I am going to be alone with Jesus! How sacred! How wonderful! How blessed!

2. Begin to feed upon God's Word. Normally it is important to listen to God first. Listening is as important as speaking; feasting on the Word is as important as interceding. You can often hear His voice through the reading of His Word.

Take all the time you need to saturate your heart with the Word. You may at times want to read some portions of Scripture on your knees. It is often wise to continue your systematic reading of the Bible rather than to skip around. On the other had, you may feel led to begin by reading a portion of the Psalms—perhaps as many as twenty-five or more—or to read through one of the Gospels or the Epistles. Freely follow the suggestion made by the Holy Spirit to your heart.

Read to be blessed. Don't prepare formal Bible studies or read analytically, unless the Lord directs you to do so. Just feast on God's Word and God's goodness. You are preparing your heart to commune with Him, to worship at His feet, to intercede for others, and to win prayer battles. In all of these, the Word of God lays an enduring foundation.

(Chapter 31, p. 235-237, italics added for emphasis)

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Let's pray-

Father, we will trust Your methods of prayer for us in our daily praying. May we come into Your presence with joyful worship for all that Christ has accomplished for us, His loving deeds, for His death and resurrection and goodness to us everyday.

It is a pleasure to us to know that You actually sing over us. May we return with singing over all You're planning for us. Please help us listen for Your spoken Word to us, as we read Your Word. Feasting on it will enable us to be more effective in our interceding. While we read systematically through Your Word, help us glean from particular sections also, where we can read portions that especially bless and encourage us, such as the Psalms.

As we prepare to commune with You, and to worship at the feet of Jesus, to intercede for others and to win prayer battles, may we realize that we are laying a foundation that will last us through the years. We ask for Your assistance in our prayer times, to make it effective and fruitful. We ask for this in Jesus' name. Amen.

Today's Bible verses-

Micah 6:8 says, "He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?"

Matthew 11:28-29 (NLT) "Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Quotes for today-

~ Sarah Foulkes Moore- "Revival comes in answer to the heart cries of God's people. The most insistent and urgent pleas, the most fervent exhortations need to be sounded forth at this hour to put the saints everywhere to praying."

~ Kim Butts- "Can you imagine the impact on the church of Jesus Christ when believing families begin to live Spirit-filled lives, displaying the fruit and gifts of the Holy Spirit, and completely empowered for God's work? The Bible assures us that this is completely within the grasp of our families because of the power of the Holy Spirit."

Words of wisdom-

~ We can depend upon the Lord to draw near to us, as He’s always at hand to help us deal with our burdens. His desire is for us to hand over our concerns to Him, so that He can give us rest for our souls. He will deliver us from our enemies and cause us to be content that He’s in control of our every situation.

May 7-- Single Mom Life Hacks (Online): This one hour online workshop (7-8pm CST) will help single moms be an intentional parent. I'll be teaching principles from my No More Perfect Kids, My Hearts at Home, and Real Moms...Real Jesus books. It's FREE, but you do need to register here!

Offered by Jill & Mark Savage

Today's question-

As Christ said that He will build His Church, what do we need to do?

Unless the Lord builds the church we go to, we'll be building in vain. Our aim needs to be to help build our group with Christ's directions. What can we do to improve relationships with one another, so He can draw us together in unity?

When we see things that need work on to complete our body locally, may we honestly ask for the Spirit's guidance to help us make the needed changes in attitudes, desires and motivation, so things are open to Him and to invite Him to watch over our work as a church family, to build His church locally.

We're to open our eyes to cracks in our "walls" we've built, that let in unwanted motives, thoughts and actions, and to see what ways we can repair and make things right so the Lord can bless us with His presence and power. We're in this church-building together with Christ, so let's be careful to live as godly as we can, and to raise our children in the fear and admonition of the Lord. May we see what's broken and what needs to be repaired so He will be pleased to change us into His image, and to allow Him to build His Church in us locally.