Conversation With God: The Power Of Prevailing PrayerExemplo

Loving the Lord through Prayer

Make the decision to pray by first learning to love God and make him your first priority. Since the greatest of all the commandments is to love God, let’s pause to consider the question: "How is it that we really 'love God'?" Often our response indicates that we believe that loving God is equal to doing things for God. All the while, he is simply longing for us to RELATE to him!

If God needed things done, he could enlist the angels for perfect execution and without complaint. We, as his created, have the privilege of intimacy with him. Our journey with God in prayer provides this unique opportunity.

So, as we approach him in prayer, where do we begin? We share our love for the Lord in many relational ways, and one of the most important is through our gratitude. We are encouraged in Psalm 100 to “Worship the Lord with gladness … Enter his gates with thanksgiving.”

PRAYER is the JOURNEY into deepened love with the Lord that begins with thanksgiving.

Pause now to pray a prayer of thanksgiving and serve him with a glad heart: “Father, as I reflect on the countless ways you have loved me well, my heart overflows with thanksgiving. I’m especially grateful for how you have blessed me with ... and how you have sustained me through ... I praise you for your generosity and grace. Receive my thanksgiving and praise as a small expression of my deep love. Amen.”