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Prayer – A conversation with your heavenly Father

As children of God, born again by the power of His Spirit, we are invited to fellowship with our Father through prayer. Prayer is simply a conversation with your Heavenly Father. It is an opportunity to lay down the burdens of our hearts and practice the presence of Jesus.

Through prayer, we can go beyond our limitations and access the presence of the Almighty Creator of the universe to present all our concerns and receive answers to our requests. It is one of the most extraordinary privileges given to humanity!

Prayer is the way to obtain guidance, comfort, encouragement and spiritual strength for the battles of life from our Heavenly Father. It is a place to grow in love, intimacy and understanding of His plans and purposes for us. It is an opportunity to surrender who we are, to release faith and to exercise hope. Through prayer, we abandon our pride and affirm our dependence on God’s provision and care.

Prayer is to Christian living what breathing is to the human body.

In order to pray, you don’t have to learn complicated words or assume a certain body posture. Actually, the more sincere and heartfelt your prayer is, the better. Here are a few principles that will help you enjoy a consistent and rich prayer life:

Always pray in the name of Jesus. The reason we can boldly enter the presence of God in prayer is because of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. He has given us direct access to the presence of the Father and you don’t need any other mediator. In the name of Jesus, you can talk to the Father, and He will listen to you.

Praise and worship Him. The best way to begin your prayers is by praising God and worshipping Him for what He has done and for who He is. You can sing a song or simply tell Him how much you love Him.

Confess your sins and receive forgiveness. Every time you pray, you have the opportunity to search your heart and surrender to God the issues and struggles you are dealing with. He is always ready to forgive your sins and empower you to conquer temptation.

Present your needs and the needs of others. By asking God what we need, we are expressing that we trust Him to provide for us.Pray also for other people. Praying for others will help you grow in love, make you a channel for God’s blessings on Earth and protect your heart against selfishness. Selfish people don’t have time to pray for others.

Pray often. Through prayer you can fellowship with your Heavenly Father, communicate with Him and enjoy His presence. God’s desire is that it becomes a lifestyle for you. It is important to set some quiet time every day for prayer, but you can also take advantage of every opportunity you have to fellowship with God. You can pray as you drive and as you work. You can pray as you commute or run your daily errands.

Pray with faith. Faith is simply trusting that God will fulfill His promises. Faith connects the miraculous provision in Heaven with the needs here on Earth. When you pray, expect to receive an answer from God.

He will answer according to His Will. We serve a loving Father who delights Himself in blessing His children with precious gifts. Prayer, however, is not a way to force God to satisfy our selfish desires. God may answer ‘no’ to your prayers or He may judge that it is not yet time for you to receive your request. Prayer is also a place of surrender in which you lay down your ideas, thoughts and aspirations to take on God’s.

In order to better discern God’s will, it is important to understand His Word, the Bible. This is the theme of our next devotional study. See you tomorrow!