Prayer to spend more time with Jesus
Silas
Beloved of All
Your desire to spend more time with Jesus is itself evidence of the work God is doing in your heart, and it is a desire He wants to answer. Salvation is not only believing facts about Jesus, but believing into a living and life changing relationship with Him. Prayer grows out of that relationship. Because you belong to Him through faith in Jesus Christ, you have a Father who hears when you call.
Scripture shows that Jesus Himself, though He is the Son of God, continually turned to prayer for strength and guidance and for life itself. When the needs of the crowds pressed in on Him, He withdrew to be alone with the Father. The heavier the pressure, the more He sought that quiet time. If He saw such need for prayer, how much more do we need to make it a central part of our lives and learn to depend on the strength that comes from it.
To abide in Him, as He teaches in John chapter 15, means staying close to Him in His Word and in prayer. That abiding brings joy, and that joy is closely tied to time spent with the Father. It helps to set aside other distractions that pull at your attention and to give more time to listening to Him, learning from Him, and receiving from Him. Begin your prayer with quiet worship before Him. Remember also that the purpose of prayer is not to make God do what we want, but to bring our hearts into line with what He wants, so that His will is done. He sometimes delays an answer, as He did for Hannah when she prayed for a son, not because He does not hear, but because He is working out His purpose and bringing us into harmony with it. So continue and watch with thanksgiving, and keep knocking with persistence.
When you have been with Jesus, it shows. Others could tell that the first disciples had been with Him, not as a past event but as a present reality. He is with you now where you seek Him.
Here is a prayer you can use and make your own as you seek to walk more closely with Him:
Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Thank You for bringing me into relationship with You through Jesus Christ Your Son. Forgive me for the times I have let other things crowd You out. I want to know You more and to abide in Christ. Teach me to pray and help me to love Your Word. Draw my heart to seek You first and to want Your will above my own. Give me a hunger to be alone with You, to worship You quietly and to listen for Your voice. Fill me with Your Spirit and let Your joy be full in me as I spend time with You. Lead me today to walk with Jesus so that my life reflects that I have been with Him. In the name of Jesus I pray, amen.
Scripture shows that Jesus Himself, though He is the Son of God, continually turned to prayer for strength and guidance and for life itself. When the needs of the crowds pressed in on Him, He withdrew to be alone with the Father. The heavier the pressure, the more He sought that quiet time. If He saw such need for prayer, how much more do we need to make it a central part of our lives and learn to depend on the strength that comes from it.
To abide in Him, as He teaches in John chapter 15, means staying close to Him in His Word and in prayer. That abiding brings joy, and that joy is closely tied to time spent with the Father. It helps to set aside other distractions that pull at your attention and to give more time to listening to Him, learning from Him, and receiving from Him. Begin your prayer with quiet worship before Him. Remember also that the purpose of prayer is not to make God do what we want, but to bring our hearts into line with what He wants, so that His will is done. He sometimes delays an answer, as He did for Hannah when she prayed for a son, not because He does not hear, but because He is working out His purpose and bringing us into harmony with it. So continue and watch with thanksgiving, and keep knocking with persistence.
When you have been with Jesus, it shows. Others could tell that the first disciples had been with Him, not as a past event but as a present reality. He is with you now where you seek Him.
Here is a prayer you can use and make your own as you seek to walk more closely with Him:
Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Thank You for bringing me into relationship with You through Jesus Christ Your Son. Forgive me for the times I have let other things crowd You out. I want to know You more and to abide in Christ. Teach me to pray and help me to love Your Word. Draw my heart to seek You first and to want Your will above my own. Give me a hunger to be alone with You, to worship You quietly and to listen for Your voice. Fill me with Your Spirit and let Your joy be full in me as I spend time with You. Lead me today to walk with Jesus so that my life reflects that I have been with Him. In the name of Jesus I pray, amen.
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