"if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land."
2nd Chronicles 7:14 (ESV)
So, today being the Global Day of Prayer, and me having enjoyed the Toronto GDOP, I have decided that tonight's study will be on prayer! Good times!
Healing of the land, cleansing of sin, bringing of miracles, healing, all these things are more, they come from prayer.
I went to biblegateway.com (which is, by the by, awesometastic! It is where I pull all the different translations I use for these studies [there, my secret is out]), and searched for the word 'pray' and was returned with 365 results (in the NIV). Interesting, very interesting. There are, am I wrong, 365 days in a year? Coincidence? Yeah, probably, just pulling your leg!
Anyway, back to the point! God is big on prayer! Literally (you can look it up!) from Genesis to Revelation, the word 'pray' is used! And, based on the whole 365 times things, I'd say it's used pretty liberally. Which is good!
God is big on prayer! He is very big on prayer! He, as my new friend Chris would say, digs it large! (Chris if you're reading this, love ya buddy!)
Prayer is our communication with God! It is the walkie talkie that we both have.
Remember when you were a kid, and you would poke a hole in the bottom of two plastic cups, and tie in a string, one end into each cup, and use them like telephones? That is a PERFECT analogy of prayer in my opinion. Prayer is our direct line to God! We have one cup, he's got the other!
If you don't pray, you are not talking to God, and you are not hearing from God. A man who was praying at the GDOP tonight said something so truthful, so simple, yet so mysterious and lost by a lot of people, "prayer is a two-way communication." A lot of people think that prayer is one-way, just us to him. But the truth is is that he is talking back! We often just do not listen, are talking too much ourselves, or do not know his voice! And sometimes we have things that block us from hearing from him. Guilt from sin, distracting thoughts, a lack of passion, mental blocks, oppressions of the mind, and other things.
2nd Chronicles 7:14 (ESV)
So, today being the Global Day of Prayer, and me having enjoyed the Toronto GDOP, I have decided that tonight's study will be on prayer! Good times!
Healing of the land, cleansing of sin, bringing of miracles, healing, all these things are more, they come from prayer.
I went to biblegateway.com (which is, by the by, awesometastic! It is where I pull all the different translations I use for these studies [there, my secret is out]), and searched for the word 'pray' and was returned with 365 results (in the NIV). Interesting, very interesting. There are, am I wrong, 365 days in a year? Coincidence? Yeah, probably, just pulling your leg!
Anyway, back to the point! God is big on prayer! Literally (you can look it up!) from Genesis to Revelation, the word 'pray' is used! And, based on the whole 365 times things, I'd say it's used pretty liberally. Which is good!
God is big on prayer! He is very big on prayer! He, as my new friend Chris would say, digs it large! (Chris if you're reading this, love ya buddy!)
Prayer is our communication with God! It is the walkie talkie that we both have.
Remember when you were a kid, and you would poke a hole in the bottom of two plastic cups, and tie in a string, one end into each cup, and use them like telephones? That is a PERFECT analogy of prayer in my opinion. Prayer is our direct line to God! We have one cup, he's got the other!
If you don't pray, you are not talking to God, and you are not hearing from God. A man who was praying at the GDOP tonight said something so truthful, so simple, yet so mysterious and lost by a lot of people, "prayer is a two-way communication." A lot of people think that prayer is one-way, just us to him. But the truth is is that he is talking back! We often just do not listen, are talking too much ourselves, or do not know his voice! And sometimes we have things that block us from hearing from him. Guilt from sin, distracting thoughts, a lack of passion, mental blocks, oppressions of the mind, and other things.
"So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."
This is a favourite verse of my Pastor's, and he's talked about it a few times before. This is the breakdown:
Faith comes by hearing hearing = faith
hearing comes by the word word = hearing
word --> hearing --> faith
Do you find your faith is weak? It's because you're not hearing from God eh? And you don't know why?
Not reading the word? Well, there's the problem right there!
You know, as they do, this study is getting a little long, so I will wrap it up (sort of) with this. I struggle with reading the bible regularly, I struggle with it a lot. I don't read it nearly enough as I want, or need to. I take it in at church services, at cell groups, from friends who speak it, and when I do these studies, and that is something, but it's not nearly enough. I pray to God that he will grow in me a desire for his word! It's hard! I really just need to make it a priority. I was talking recently with some fellow guys about building God's house, and about how our priorities tend to be on building our house before his, and how that makes me feel (which is sad). My life is about building God's house! I want to live full time a life of servitude for his house because I love him, love his house, love his people, love his lost sheep, and I love just the act of it! But I need to get my priorities straight in my day-to-day routine. God give me strength!
I encourage you reader, to press forth, to pray, to seek God, to crave his word like a fine food, and to dive into time with him fervently. Do not lose heart! And lift up your fellow Christian! Someone lift me up! Pray with me about prayer, pray with me about the word! There is so much power in these things.
Faith comes by hearing hearing = faith
hearing comes by the word word = hearing
word --> hearing --> faith
Do you find your faith is weak? It's because you're not hearing from God eh? And you don't know why?
Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word God
Not reading the word? Well, there's the problem right there!
You know, as they do, this study is getting a little long, so I will wrap it up (sort of) with this. I struggle with reading the bible regularly, I struggle with it a lot. I don't read it nearly enough as I want, or need to. I take it in at church services, at cell groups, from friends who speak it, and when I do these studies, and that is something, but it's not nearly enough. I pray to God that he will grow in me a desire for his word! It's hard! I really just need to make it a priority. I was talking recently with some fellow guys about building God's house, and about how our priorities tend to be on building our house before his, and how that makes me feel (which is sad). My life is about building God's house! I want to live full time a life of servitude for his house because I love him, love his house, love his people, love his lost sheep, and I love just the act of it! But I need to get my priorities straight in my day-to-day routine. God give me strength!
I encourage you reader, to press forth, to pray, to seek God, to crave his word like a fine food, and to dive into time with him fervently. Do not lose heart! And lift up your fellow Christian! Someone lift me up! Pray with me about prayer, pray with me about the word! There is so much power in these things.
"Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much."
James 5:16 (NKJV)
James 5:16 (NKJV)
Healing of the land, cleansing of sin, bringing of miracles, healing, all these things and more, they come from prayer.
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