PRAY WITHOUT CEASING
1Thessalonians 5:17 “Prayer is the raising of one’s mind and heart to God”
We should pray as though everything depended on God.
True prayer is neither a mere mental exercise nor a vocal performance. It is far deeper than that.
“Prayer should be the key of the day and the lock of the night.”
It’s hard to pray when we don’t come out of our stubborn and sinful selves. Unless we die to ourselves, we can not pray. Our flesh fights so hard against prayer. When we pray, we are entering into real warfare against our flesh and against our accuser and his host. Although they are not afraid of us, they are terrified of the One within us and who is for us, and they despise that we are praying to the One who has crushed them .
It’s hard to pray because our focus is too often on praying itself and not on God. God hears and listens to us. He always answers our prayers and always acts for our ultimate good. We are also reminded of his love, grace, holiness, and righteousness, and we realize the harsh reality of our sins.
We believe in the power of God, and that is why we pray. So, when we pray, we are reminded that God is sovereign and in control.
Sometimes, God’s answer to our prayer is “no,” sometimes “wait,” sometimes “yes,” and beyond what you could even imagine.” We must also pray for God to help us pray, treating prayer as a communion with our closest and most loving companion.”
We cannot question God for not answering our prayer. But we should examine ourselves and find out the reasons for not receiving a favorable answer from God.
The following are the reasons for unanswerable prayers:
- Our faith is weak
- We didn’t confess our sins and did not correct ourselves
- We didn’t forgive others
- We did not compensate the loss to others (non repayment of debts )
- We didn’t fulfill commitments to God
- Our relationship with family members and others is strained
- Irregular prayers
- Not meditating on the bible
- Curses
Important parts in a model prayer are as follows:
- Praising the name of God the father
- Pleading for establishment of kingdom of God
- Pleading for daily needs
- Pleading for forgiveness
- Pleading for guidance and protection during temptation
Many of the bible characters were morning worshippers.
Jesus prayed early in the morning and also during night hour.He went out and departed to a solitary place for praying to God the father. (Mark 1:35)
He prayed before and after all the great events. He prayed for himself (John 17:1-5)
He prayed for disciples (John 17:6-19) He prayed for all who believed him.
Jesus pleaded Heavenly Father to let the cup (shameful death on the cross) pass from him. However, he submitted to the will of God .
Let us pray Lord Jesus,
Make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love, Where there is injury, pardon Where there is doubt, faith, Where there is despair, hope, Where there is darkness, light, Where there is sadness, joy. O Divine Master, Guide me to console others to understand others, to love others Amen.
Sol.Subramanian