Stumped as to how to pray?

Have you ever been stumped as to how to pray about a situation?  We all have at one time or another.  What makes it difficult is that we often do not know what God’s will is and therefore lack confidence in knowing what to ask for. 

Here are some sure-fire prayers to pray in any situation.  They are all in perfect alignment with God’s will because they are right from the Bible.

1.  Pray for every one involved to have a closer relationship with God.  Ultimately the greatest benefit anyone can experience through even the most difficult of trials is to come to know Jesus Christ better. (Ephesians 2:15-19, John 17:3 & Matthew 6:9)

2.  Pray for God to be glorified through what happens.  Whenever God’s name and nature are exalted amazing thing always happen.  (John 12:28 & Matthew 6:9)

3.  Pray for people to acknowledge Christ’s lordship.  God’s ultimate purpose is to establish His kingdom on earth and that happens wherever we yield to the rule of King Jesus.  (1 Corinthians 12:3 & Matthew 6:10)

4.  Pray for people to have the wisdom to do the right thing.  God delights to give wisdom and grace to those who will ask Him. (James 1:5 & Matthew 6:10)

5.  Pray for God’s unmerited favor and mercy.  The very nature of God is to be merciful and provide for our needs even when we don’t deserve it.  (Habakkuk 3:2, Psalm 51:1 & Matthew 6:11)

6.  Pray for holiness and the fear of the Lord.  From the beginning of time God’s has been committed to have a people wholly devoted to Him. (Hebrews 12:14, Proverbs 8:13 & Matthew 6:12-13)

7.  Pray that the works of the evil one might be destroyed.  The devil comes only to steal, to kill and destroy, but Jesus came that we might have abundance of life in Him.  (John 10:10, 1 John 3:8 & Matthew 6:13)

You can very easily remember these seven ways to pray by memorizing the Lord’s Prayer. (Matthew 6:9-13)  They are taken directly from that prayer and have been listed in the same order Jesus used when He was teaching His disciples how to pray.

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Are you a member of the Frequent Pray-er Club?

The prayer of the upright is his delight.  Proverbs 15:8b

Those who are righteous by faith and come to Him in prayer bring God great pleasure.  That is a fact.  God delights in pray-ers.  And it’s the frequent pray-ers that make God smile the most. 

My attendance yesterday at two prayer meetings marking the annual National Day of Prayer gave me pause.  I noticed that most of those in attendance were the faithful prayer warriors of the church, dedicated men and women whom I stand in awe of because of their incredible commitment to prayer.

I couldn’t help but think that these frequent pray-ers are people who are continually racking up God’s sky sMiles.  And as heavenly travelers through prayer and intercession, they have to be elite members of God’s Frequent Pray-er Club. 

There are many benefits to accumulating sky sMiles and being a member of the Frequent Pray-er Club.

Frequent pray-ers can book free award travel to any part of the world they desire to go through intercession.  They have priority boarding simply by showing their red boarding pass with the Name of Jesus on it.  And they also get first class seating with Him in heavenly places.

God’s great delight in frequent pray-ers goes even farther than that.  I believe that He assigns personal angelic sky-caps to frequent pray-ers to ensure that they navigate safely when they are on the ground. 

And here is a thought.  Could it be that God has a special Sky Lounge reserved in heaven for these frequent pray-ers as a final bonus for the many sMiles they have earned.  If so, it will certainly usher them into an elite company of people.  I’m talking about Platinum Members, the likes of Daniel who prayed three times a day, David who prayed seven times a day and Paul who prayed without ceasing. 

How are you doing at accumulating sky sMiles?

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