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Purpose of Prayer
Jesus taught us to pray in this manner, "Our Father in heaven, holy is Your Name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:9-10).
Because of God's great love for us, He has raised us up together and made us sit togther in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:4, 6).
The Lord continues to lead me deeper into prayer with Him. I have sensed this more specifically since I stepped into full-time ministry as my vocation 7 months ago.
My focus the next few weeks will be to seek to articulate what God is placing on my heart regarding prayer.
It is so important to know that God is the Source and Provider of everything, and that He knows our every need and could provide each one without us being involved. However, He delights in our relationship as we pray to Him as His perfect way of providing our needs.
This is the purpose of prayer. God in Christ Jesus is our ultimate prayer partner!
When we don't view prayer from the perspective God has given us in Christ, our prayers are self-centered and ineffective. I have heard it said with much frustration, "I feel like my prayers don't make it past the ceiling." This frustration is the result of striving to pray with self-effort.
However, the truth is that our true prayers never even start below the ceiling! We are seated in heavenly places in Christ! We are united with Christ and have all of His authority to be the conduit for praying God's will from heaven down to earth!
This partnership is the purpose of prayer! Our prayers don't change God's mind. Our prayers reveal God's heart in us. Our prayers are our active participation with God in His ministry of reconciliation for the world.
The late pastor Adrian Rogers once said, "Prayers that get to heaven start in heaven." I really like that. Short and sweet.
In closing, here is a little story that further helps puts prayer in perspective (and a little smile on our faces). A man remarked that he didn't bother God with little things. A true friend replied, "Excuse me. He's God. Everything is little to Him!"
I hasten to add that while everything is little to God, everything is important to God, including you and me. And when we experience God in our little things, we experience God in all of His love and majesty and power through our prayers.
May this rest stop be a sweet time of prayer for us and a blessing for those we pray for,
PS, I only understand a glimpse of what God says in these Scriptures about prayer, but that is enough to transform my life. More on this in weeks to come.
I highly recommend discipleship training resources from www.prayinglife.org which have encouraged me to grow in seeing God's heart for us and our prayers.
JOURNEY IN CHRIST
UPCOMING EVENTS
Gregg chaplain at Boys Home of the South
Chapel on Hwy 25 near Belton, SC
Tuesdays 7:00 to 8:00 pm
Visitors welcome!
Gregg attending men's Bible study
Haven of Rest Men's Training Center Belton, SC
Thursdays 6:00 to 7:00 pm
Contact Gregg if you are interested in training to minister to men with addictive lifestyles
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LINKS AND MESSAGES |
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Your friends can subscribe to
Gregg's Weekly Rest Stop
at the above websites.
I am a missionary
with Journey in Christ, Inc.,
a discipleship counseling
and training ministry.
Please contact me if you would like to know more about being a ministry partner with me.
(864) 483-3201 (Gregg cell)
JOURNEY IN CHRIST
Attn: Gregg Gibbons
926 NE Main Street
Suite F-155
Simpsonville, SC 29681
Click here for
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Boys praying at the
Boys Home of the South
My twin sister Susan
at the Boys Home chapel
The following hymn was written
by a blind minister in England,
who wrote about God
showing His face to him!
The minister was blind on earth,
but he could see from heaven,
through his prayers
from His true position in Christ!
SWEET HOUR OF PRAYER
words by William Walford (1842)
music by William Bradbury (1859)
Sweet hour of prayer,
sweet hour of prayer,
that calls me from a world of care,
and bids me at my Father's throne,
make all my wants
and wishes known!
In seasons of distress and grief,
my soul has often found relief.
And oft escaped the tempter's snare,
by thy return,
sweet hour of prayer.
Sweet hour of prayer,
sweet hour of prayer,
the joys I feel, the bliss I share
of those whose anxious spirits burn
with strong desire for thy return!
With such I hasten to the place
where God my Savior
shows His face,
and gladly take my station there,
and wait for thee,
sweet hour of prayer.
Sweet hour of prayer,
sweet hour of prayer,
thy wings shall my petition bear
to Him whose truth and faithfulness
engage the waiting soul to bless.
And since He bids me seek His face,
believe His word, and trust His grace.
I'll cast on Him my ev'ry care,
and wait for thee,
sweet hour of prayer.
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