Every single one of us can start the day off with prayer amen you can now you may not but
you can before you get out of bed you ought to be talking to God you don't know whether you're
going to be able to get back in that bed again or not life is uncertain and yet God is so certain
He wants prayer to be a priority in your life the right time for prayer is not found it is made
You've got to make up your mind I'm going to do this this is a priority people find time
to do what they want to do if you're in love with someone you'll find time to call them
and you won't be in a hurry to hang up morning is a good time to pray
Jesus the bible says a great while before it was day he rose up to pray
Nobody prayed like Jesus Jesus sometimes spent the whole night in prayer and you think if anybody
didn't need to pray I mean Jesus sort of had a hotline to heaven why would he need to pray but he
prayed like nobody ever prayed matter of fact the bible says when the disciples saw Jesus pray Luke
9:29 he prayed and the appearance of his face was altered and his robe became white and glistening
so start your day and say Lord help me today through the Holy Spirit
to abide in you to keep you in my thoughts now first of all you know how much more peace it'll
bring you so many things you worry about and you just think Lord take that away from me
sometimes you've got thoughts coming in your mind you think nobody should think those thoughts let
alone a Christian say Lord cleanse my mind or you'll see other people that you sense have a need
and the Holy Spirit will nudge you and it's like you're in communion with God
the spirit with your mind don't you want that well you're walking with God
You wake up in the morning and you ask the Lord to give you direction for your life
and to help you and strengthen you to give you wisdom and you think about this think about it any
given day how many times you and I need to ask him to give us direction and help us to strengthen us
to give us guidance to provide something we need that's what Paul means when he says pray
without ceasing it's a way of life it's a part of our daily life we go to bed at night praying
we wake up praying we are praying all during the day about different things that concern us
and when we wake up in the middle of the night we ought to think about him Lord is there something
you want to say to me do you want to get me ready for something tomorrow that I'm not aware of
Each morning consecrate yourself to God for that day surrender all of your plans to him
to be carried out or given up as his providence will indicate thus day by day you may be giving
your life into the hands of God and thus your life will be molded more and more after the
life of Christ how are we transformed into the image of God through communion with him
and Paul said to the Romans listen to this devote yourself to prayer devote yourself to prayer means
you set aside time for it you're serious about it it is a priority in your life devote yourself
to prayer give it an uninterrupted time think clearly about what you're talking to God about
be serious about it not something you add on you see for most people prayer is an add-on
it's it's an add-on to doing this doing that doing that and before I go to bed I'm on a
little quick prayer no you've got to give him time you've got to have a relationship with him
and so when he says devote yourself to prayer devote yourself means you set aside a time that
is the priority of prayer means I place importance on it I place a position it's first in my life
and prayer is the most important thing we do talking to God the sovereign God of the
universe who has all power and all knowledge who knows what you think and what you feel and
what you're going to ask before you ask it in the Christian life there are three rules you
know what they are prayer prayer prayer it's the foundation of every blessing and all that we need
prayer must be important it's mentioned over 300 times in the bible so we ought to give attention
to the things that God makes a priority of prayer is an expression of faith in God
prayer is thanking God instead of complaining prayer is rejoicing accepting and appropriating
grace into my life each and every day one day we're going to see our Lord Jesus Christ
face to face and friend we don't want him to be a stranger when we see him oh no
we want to be walking with him in fellowship and in prayer making a priority of prayer until we see
Jesus Christ again you see Jesus begins by telling us men ought always to pray first Thessalonians
5 and 17 tells us pray without ceasing and as we often have learned when times are good
it's very easy for us to just forget to pray uh we kind of start thinking we can handle it on our own
The truth is he means to have our attention all the time reoccurring listen to this
reoccurring awareness of his presence and his power in our life daily throughout the
day and throughout the waking hours of our life but really the bible says praying doesn't end
if you're a Christian and you're awake you want to live in a constant walking relationship with God
that means that you spend your time abiding in the presence of God you are praying always prayer is
an attitude of life for the Christian it is a way of life every blessing in the Christian life
comes in connection with prayer prayer is not the exception for the Christian it is the rule
no man or woman is going to be greater than their prayer life no church is going to be
greater than its prayer life I wonder how many prayers that we've left behind because we quit
too soon we did not pray diligently true genuine prayer is a dialogue talking to him listening to
him that's what God wants he wants not only for you to talk to him he wants you to listen to him
he wants to give you clear direction he wants to answer your prayer he wants to provide what
you need most the people who pray they carry on the monologue with God God here's my need
and they go on and on and on and on and talk to God watch this and and turn around and walk off
and they never listen to God you know why they don't expect him to answer don't jump off off your
knees when you feel like I've run out of things to say linger and say Lord what am I forgetting
is there something that I need to confess is there somebody I'm forgetting so often
our prayers are about us and our needs take some time to intercede for other people and you'll find
that prayer is not just talking prayers communion where you're listening to God and he will begin to
make impressions on your heart sometimes I've been praying I thought oh my mind is wandering and then
I realize no God is reminding me of something I need to do today God will speak to you when
you're on your knees he talks you through his spirit through angels he'll guide you
so don't be in a hurry you know the bible says do not make haste to leave the king's presence
do not make haste to leave the king's presence we don't have to be a complete God to listen to us
he is hearing us if you're a child of God the ears of almighty God are open
to every single one of his children you say how could that possibly be because he's God
and because he's given us a message of hope about all of these things so I think one
of the reasons people don't pray is because watch this carefully they don't feel worthy
they don't feel like God's listening they don't feel like they know how they don't have the kind
of relationship that would make them think that God would listen to him anyway so their
minds are full of doubt I don't believe God will hear and answer my prayer because
the truth is God does hear and answer the prayers of his children even when we are confused
even sometimes when we think well Lord I don't deserve it the truth is none of us deserve his
grace and love and mercy but he's listening and willing to hear and answer our prayer
God is not in heaven trying to be secretive about things he wants to talk to you
about your life listen he created you not to harm you but to make it possible for you to live
life at its very best but in order for that to happen I've got to be willing to listen to him
and so we need to build a relationship with the Lord so in order for that to happen
you say well how does God speak to me well one of the ways he speaks through his word
that's why it's good to read the word of God a little bit before you start praying not always
but at least at some point during the day you read a portion because
it's amazing how he can take you right to the scripture that you just desperately need
because he's God and remember this from Genesis to Revelation he knows every verse
there isn't anything in the bible he doesn't know about and so building that intimate relationship
is absolutely essential and that is my prayer that you would do the most important thing you will do
in your life every day and give God the time that he deserves listen to do what to set you up in a
position to bless you the way he wants to bless you to have you in the right place doing what he
wants to do in your life giving you the very thing you're asking for but in the way he wants to do it
so you have to ask yourself the question do I love him enough
do I care enough do I believe that he wants to do that in my life