Luke 11:2a<\/b>\u00a0\u201cAnd He said to them,\u00a0\u201cWhen you pray, say:\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
We are told in the Bible to pray.\u00a0\u00a0Jesus set the example and prayed to the Father continuously. (Luke 3:21, Matthew 14:23, Mark 6:46, Luke 6:12, Mark 1:35, Luke 5:16, Matthew 26:39, Matthew 14:19, Luke 22:32<\/b>)\u00a0\u00a0He is our example.<\/p>\n
Who do we pray to?\u00a0\u00a0Of course we should only be praying to God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.\u00a0\u00a0He is the only and the one true God.\u00a0\u00a0But what is it to pray to God?\u00a0\u00a0We know it is a good thing which the Word calls us to do, (1 Thessalonians 5:17<\/b>) but what makes it special to you?\u00a0\u00a0Why does God want us to pray?\u00a0\u00a0Of course we treasure that we can bring our prayers to the one who is able to answer them all.\u00a0\u00a0Certainly the Lord loves that we should rely upon Him.\u00a0\u00a0Prayer is a good thing.\u00a0\u00a0But what is best about prayer?\u00a0\u00a0Why is it such a vital blessing?<\/p>\n
Reading and studying the Word is a special blessing.\u00a0\u00a0Pondering it and memorizing it stores blessings within that God will use to bless our lives, gives us confidence in God and a sure hope for tomorrow.\u00a0\u00a0The Lord draws us to Him through His Word.\u00a0\u00a0However reading and memorizing the Bible means nothing if Jesus is not loved and obeyed.\u00a0\u00a0To read the Word of God with the Holy Spirit within is the key and the beauty.\u00a0\u00a0Asking the Spirit to reveal the meaning within is the key.\u00a0\u00a0Of course, Knowing Jesus as one\u2019s Savior and Lord is what must precede the receiving of the Holy Spirit within. To really understand the Word one must be taught by the Spirit.<\/p>\n
Studying without the Spirit is not more profitable than a hater of Christ who studies the Word (in vain) with the motivation of profaning the faith.<\/p>\n
When a person arrives atop a beautiful place to watch the sunrise, or the sunset, and has a wonderful time with the Lord, some mistakenly think that the blessings was the place rather than God Himself. We can return to the place thinking it blesses us when the blessings come instead from God.\u00a0\u00a0The presence of God comes not from any place, but from God Himself.\u00a0\u00a0The place may motivate us to be alone with God, but God alone gives His blessings.\u00a0\u00a0(James 1:17<\/b>)<\/p>\n
So the reading of the Word, without the Spirit of God revealing it, is fruitless.\u00a0\u00a0We must read and study the Word of God to know God.\u00a0\u00a0But we must do it with the Spirit of God in gratitude to Him.\u00a0\u00a0When we pray, it is not the act of praying that is most important.\u00a0\u00a0A godless man can pray to the universe that has no power to answer.\u00a0\u00a0The beauty of praying, of talking with God, is fellowshipping with Him.\u00a0\u00a0The honor of praying to Him is to be in His presence.\u00a0\u00a0The goal is to know the Lord God in a personal and relational way.\u00a0\u00a0That is what gives us a sure knowledge that He is and also who He is.\u00a0\u00a0To be able to say \u201cGod is my personal friend\u201d (by the grace of God through Jesus) is the purpose and meaning of prayer.\u00a0\u00a0It is not a work to check off so we feel like we did a good deed.\u00a0\u00a0The goal is to be in fellowship with God.\u00a0\u00a0To hear Him, to obey Him, to cherish Him.\u00a0\u00a0That is the prize of prayer.\u00a0\u00a0The act profits as it brings us to His presence.\u00a0\u00a0So let us pray continuously as we seek and find His presence.\u00a0\u00a0After all Jesus assumed that all who belong to Him would pray. (Matthew 6:5-7, Luke 11:2<\/b>)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Then we can confidently assert, to all who ask, that yes, we do personally and truly know God.\u00a0\u00a0Now that is the greatest blessing.\u00a0\u00a0Praise the Lord!<\/p>\n
Psalm 150:6<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.\u00a0 Praise the Lord!<\/i><\/p>\n
Micah 7:7<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0But as for me, I watch\u00a0in hope\u00a0for the\u00a0Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will Hear\u00a0me.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n
Micah 6:8<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0He has\u00a0shown you, Oh man, what\u00a0is\u00a0good; and what does the\u00a0Lord\u00a0require of you, but\u00a0to do justly, to love\u00a0mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.<\/i><\/p>\n
Numbers 6:24-26<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0The\u00a0Lord\u00a0bless you and keep you; 25\u00a0The\u00a0Lord\u00a0make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26\u00a0The\u00a0Lord\u00a0turn His face\u00a0toward you and give you peace.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Luke 11:2a\u00a0\u201cAnd He said to them,\u00a0\u201cWhen you pray, say:\u201d We are told in the Bible to pray.\u00a0\u00a0Jesus set the example and prayed to the Father continuously. (Luke 3:21, Matthew 14:23, Mark 6:46, Luke 6:12, Mark 1:35, Luke 5:16, Matthew 26:39, Matthew 14:19, Luke 22:32)\u00a0\u00a0He is our example. Who do we pray to?\u00a0\u00a0Of course we should…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1192],"tags":[1700,106,93,101,94,1874,17,757],"class_list":["post-2887","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-devotion","tag-james","tag-luke","tag-mark","tag-matthew","tag-micah","tag-numbers","tag-psalm","tag-thessalonians"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2887","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2887"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2887\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2888,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2887\/revisions\/2888"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2887"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2887"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2887"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}