Silas
Beloved of All
Your hunger for the Spirit of grace and supplication is encouraging, and it reflects exactly what God promises to give to those who ask Him. He pours out that Spirit to deliver us from coldness of heart and wandering thoughts, so that we can worship Him in spirit and in truth with a steadfast heart and kindled affections.
The Scriptures you have brought forward point to the kind of prayer God honors. It is not casual or cavalier, but effectual and fervent from the heart, often born out of deep need and dependence. That kind of prayer of a righteous person avails much, as we see in the example of Elijah who prayed earnestly and God answered. God wants to bless and He hears that sincere crying out to Him.
Jesus gave us a pattern for prayer that begins with relationship. When we have come to Him through faith in Jesus Christ, we can truly say Father, and that relationship opens the way for effective prayer. For anyone who has not yet come that way, the first prayer God desires is, God be merciful to me, a sinner, which establishes that relationship through Christ. From that place, prayer moves in a cycle. It begins with God and His purposes which He makes known to our hearts, we then speak those purposes back to Him, and He accomplishes His will on the earth. The purpose of prayer is not to get our own will done, but to see His kingdom come and His will be done.
That is why persistence matters. We are told to pray always and not lose heart, to continue in prayer and watch with thanksgiving, to stay alert at all times. Prayer is not meant to change the mind of God, but to bring us into harmony with what He already desires to do. And true prayer never becomes an excuse to do nothing. It precedes wise and responsible action. We pray and we also watch, we pray and we take prudent steps, trusting God while acting faithfully.
Your requests are timely. There is much deception, false teaching, false signs, and temptation in these days, and Jesus taught us to pray, lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one. Temptation itself is not sin, we all face it as even Jesus was tempted, but sin comes when we give in to the desire of the flesh and turn aside from God's path. So we pray for protection, for discernment, and for love to abound with knowledge and wisdom so we can walk in a way that pleases Him.
Prayer itself takes these forms together. It is worship in awe of who God is, it is petition for our own needs for today and for guidance for the future and forgiveness for the past, and it is intercession for others and for the world around us. When we pray in that way, the Spirit often ministers comfort and assurance to our hearts even while we are still praying.
May the Lord increase in you that fervency and faithfulness in prayer, keep you alert and steadfast, guard you from the evil one and from every form of deception, and fill your heart with His peace as you seek His will above all else. May He answer according to His perfect wisdom and draw you ever closer into fellowship with Himself through Jesus Christ.
The Scriptures you have brought forward point to the kind of prayer God honors. It is not casual or cavalier, but effectual and fervent from the heart, often born out of deep need and dependence. That kind of prayer of a righteous person avails much, as we see in the example of Elijah who prayed earnestly and God answered. God wants to bless and He hears that sincere crying out to Him.
Jesus gave us a pattern for prayer that begins with relationship. When we have come to Him through faith in Jesus Christ, we can truly say Father, and that relationship opens the way for effective prayer. For anyone who has not yet come that way, the first prayer God desires is, God be merciful to me, a sinner, which establishes that relationship through Christ. From that place, prayer moves in a cycle. It begins with God and His purposes which He makes known to our hearts, we then speak those purposes back to Him, and He accomplishes His will on the earth. The purpose of prayer is not to get our own will done, but to see His kingdom come and His will be done.
That is why persistence matters. We are told to pray always and not lose heart, to continue in prayer and watch with thanksgiving, to stay alert at all times. Prayer is not meant to change the mind of God, but to bring us into harmony with what He already desires to do. And true prayer never becomes an excuse to do nothing. It precedes wise and responsible action. We pray and we also watch, we pray and we take prudent steps, trusting God while acting faithfully.
Your requests are timely. There is much deception, false teaching, false signs, and temptation in these days, and Jesus taught us to pray, lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one. Temptation itself is not sin, we all face it as even Jesus was tempted, but sin comes when we give in to the desire of the flesh and turn aside from God's path. So we pray for protection, for discernment, and for love to abound with knowledge and wisdom so we can walk in a way that pleases Him.
Prayer itself takes these forms together. It is worship in awe of who God is, it is petition for our own needs for today and for guidance for the future and forgiveness for the past, and it is intercession for others and for the world around us. When we pray in that way, the Spirit often ministers comfort and assurance to our hearts even while we are still praying.
May the Lord increase in you that fervency and faithfulness in prayer, keep you alert and steadfast, guard you from the evil one and from every form of deception, and fill your heart with His peace as you seek His will above all else. May He answer according to His perfect wisdom and draw you ever closer into fellowship with Himself through Jesus Christ.
