Philippians 1:19
“For I know that this shall turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.”
Paul expressed the real basis for peace and confidence in this verse; prayer and God’s provision of the Holy Spirit. He was a strong believer in prayer and he also knew the Philippians were praying diligently for him. I’m sure he also sensed the filling of the Spirit in His life and knew that if he stayed in fellowship with God, the Spirit would lead him in God’s best for him and would protect him through whatever he faced.
While many Christians give verbal assent to the importance of prayer, relatively few prayer warriors exist today. Wednesday night prayer services have become almost extinct in our churches today. Individually we seem to be so busy often we only pray when we are in trouble or in need of God’s help. God designed us to communicate with Him and He strongly desires we do that.
How can we develop the discipline of prayer? First, we must make it a priority. For years I have found the best time for me to have an extended prayer time is early in the morning before all the hassles of the day begin. It is easier then for me to remain in an attitude of prayer throughout the day. In the well known passage concerning prayer, Matthew six, Jesus said “when you pray, go into your inner room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your father…”
Secondly, it is good to maintain a list of prayer needs. Years ago I developed a prayer list for each day of the week. I pray each member of our family every day. I pray for each of the missionaries we support once a week. I pray for our pastors and his families several times a week. We also get a list of needs each Monday from our church family.
Finally it is good to take note of God’s answers. Sometime they come quickly and sometimes God says “no” or “wait”. We must believe His timing is perfect.
We must also realize the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives. One of the responsibilities of the Spirit is to intercede for us. Romans 8:26 says “…for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”
I pray that you will be a person of prayer, because in those times of quietness you will draw closest to Him
Paul expressed the real basis for peace and confidence in this verse; prayer and God’s provision of the Holy Spirit. He was a strong believer in prayer and he also knew the Philippians were praying diligently for him. I’m sure he also sensed the filling of the Spirit in His life and knew that if he stayed in fellowship with God, the Spirit would lead him in God’s best for him and would protect him through whatever he faced.
While many Christians give verbal assent to the importance of prayer, relatively few prayer warriors exist today. Wednesday night prayer services have become almost extinct in our churches today. Individually we seem to be so busy often we only pray when we are in trouble or in need of God’s help. God designed us to communicate with Him and He strongly desires we do that.
How can we develop the discipline of prayer? First, we must make it a priority. For years I have found the best time for me to have an extended prayer time is early in the morning before all the hassles of the day begin. It is easier then for me to remain in an attitude of prayer throughout the day. In the well known passage concerning prayer, Matthew six, Jesus said “when you pray, go into your inner room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your father…”
Secondly, it is good to maintain a list of prayer needs. Years ago I developed a prayer list for each day of the week. I pray each member of our family every day. I pray for each of the missionaries we support once a week. I pray for our pastors and his families several times a week. We also get a list of needs each Monday from our church family.
Finally it is good to take note of God’s answers. Sometime they come quickly and sometimes God says “no” or “wait”. We must believe His timing is perfect.
We must also realize the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives. One of the responsibilities of the Spirit is to intercede for us. Romans 8:26 says “…for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”
I pray that you will be a person of prayer, because in those times of quietness you will draw closest to Him
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