believers

Scripture and prayer create a sound heart

The combination of scripture and prayer are what God uses to guide us in His grace as we live in this world and wait to be with Jesus. When I stop engaging in them, I can find myself straying into areas that take me away from my hope in Him. I love these prayer points that keep me centred.

You created me, and you keep me safe;
    give me understanding, so that I may learn your laws. – Psalm 119:73 GNT

Let your constant love comfort me,
    as you have promised me, your servant. – Psalm 119:76 GNT

May the proud be ashamed for falsely accusing me;

    as for me, I will meditate on your instructions.

May those who honor you come to me—

    all those who know your commands.

May I perfectly obey your commandments

    and be spared the shame of defeat. – Psalm 119:78-80 GNT

Your commandments are all trustworthy;
    people persecute me with lies—help me! – Psalm 119:86 GNT

The wicked are waiting to kill me,
    but I will meditate on your laws. – Psalm 119:95 GNT

The scripture opens a way to my recovery to the image of who God is and the capacity of what He wants to do in my life and the favour He wants to give me. That is where my prayer is centred – give me understanding that I might learn to do His will. It is where my prayer springs from a humble desire of being enabled.

Even when I might be found deficient in my health, I want to ask God for His merciful kindness to comfort me. That faith, patience and prayer will be the way for the Holy Spirit to do His work in my life.

Above all, I pray for a sound heart in the things that matter to God.

“At first sight it seems strange for Paul to pray that Christ may dwell in the hearts of believers. Did he not already live within them? In answer, it is noted that the focus of this request is not on the initial indwelling of Christ but on his continual presence . . . to establish believers on a firm foundation of love” – Lloyd-Jones

Teaching me to pray

I see a lot of private prayer in Jesus’ life. So it comes as no surprise that this is a key action in how I pray.

But when you pray, go to your room, close the door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what you do in private, will reward you. – Matthew 6:6 GNT

There is also something to be said for speaking plainly and simply.

“When you pray, do not use a lot of meaningless words, as the pagans do, who think that their gods will hear them because their prayers are long.  Do not be like them. Your Father already knows what you need before you ask him. – Matthew 6: 7-8 GNT

When I start praying to God in my private space the same way I pray when surrounded by believers, I am in trouble. I should pray around believers the same way I pray to God in private. Praying is simply expressing what is on my heart to God.

Isn’t the idea – I need to pray – so who cares what it sounds like. If God likes it that is all that matters.

Look, prayer is spilling your guts. It doesn’t have to be pretty. It doesn’t have to be tidy. It doesn’t have to be particularly eloquent or even particularly intelligent…Spilling our guts in prayer is how we process God’s words to us. Prayer is how we interact with our friend Jesus. – Jared Wilson

The Lord’s Prayer really encourages me to pray about all areas of my life. It brings to my attention how I pray regarding my life with God and my life with others.

“The Lord’s Prayer stretches from the Father at the beginning to the devil at the end, from heaven to hell, and in between in six brief petitions everything important in life” Frederick Bruner

I am learning how to pray about God.

Our Father in heaven:
    May your holy name be honored;
 may your Kingdom come;
    may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. – Matthew 6:9-10 GNT

I want to pray that God’s reign will become a reality in my own world.

Then I am encouraged to pray about people, and about life.

Give us today the food we need.[a]
 Forgive us the wrongs we have done,
    as we forgive the wrongs that others have done to us.
Do not bring us to hard testing,
    but keep us safe from the Evil One. – Matthew 6:11-13 GNT

I have needs and I love that I am encouraged to only worry about my daily needs and not to worry about tomorrow. That goes the same about my sins and my relationships. Jesus knows I am going to mess up, instead of hiding it from God, I am encouraged to bring it straight to Him. I am going to bring my worst to Him.

“There is mercy for a sinner, but there is no mercy for the man who will not own himself a sinner” Spurgeon

There is also included here the prayer for protection. I pray this one probably more than any other for without His covering and favour I know I will not go far. I am called to pray through and to pray for strength to resist. At the end of the day I am encouraged not to struggle on my own, I need to ask God for help. How I live and my prayer life need to connect. It is surprising how Jesus ends His instructions on how to pray.

If you forgive others the wrongs they have done to you, your Father in heaven will also forgive you.  But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive the wrongs you have done. – Matthew 6:14-15 GNT

Is this not Jesus insisting that our insides and outsides match. How can I pray and then ignore my personal relationships? God cares about relationships. Seems like I cannot claim to be forgiven if I do not extend forgiveness to others.

When this connection happens, it is amazing how those who are not followers of Jesus will ask for prayer. King Darius did this in Ezra’s time.

This is to be done so that they can offer sacrifices that are acceptable to the God of Heaven and pray for his blessing on me and my sons. – Ezra 6:10 GNT

King Darius saw prayer working and wanted some of that blessing for himself and his family. What a testimony to God’s faithfulness when our prayer life connects with living life.

So let us do what the apostles committed themselves to do.

We ourselves, then, will give our full time to prayer and the work of preaching. – Acts 6:4 GNT

Devotion is more than mere emotion. It is disciplined adherence to a chosen path, uninterrupted, earnest pursuit towards something precious, a willingness to persevere, constant diligence towards one purpose.

“We should not drive a wedge between seeking personal communion with God and seeking the advance of His kingdom in hearts and in the world. And if they are kept together, then communion will not be just wordless mystical awareness on the one hand, and our petitions will not be a way of procuring God’s favour “for many words” on the other.” – Tim Keller