Prayer through INTIMACY!

 We know that God has committed Himself to work THROUGH us. And we know that our prayers can do MIGHTY things. But how? Jesus said, “If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, ‘remove from here to another place;’ and it shall remove and nothing shall be impossible unto you!” (Mat 17:20) We can actually get WHAT we ASK for and what we have the FAITH for.

Let’s take a look into the Scriptures to see how Jesus prayed for others, as well as His communications with His Father, which would also be prayer. When Jesus fought the devil, to deliver people from sickness and demonic oppressions, His prayers were commands! The Apostle John told us that,“For this purpose the Son of God was manifested that He might destroy the works of the devil.” (1Jn 3:8b)  He was at war against the enemy!  His prayers were direct, clear, and to the point! “Be healed! Be delivered!”–And the result was always the same! “As many as touched Him were made perfectly whole!” (Mt 14:36)

However, when He prayed to His Father, His prayers were from a standpoint of an intimate and ongoing relationship. –As a Son to His Dad. This type of intimate and personal prayer and communication with His Father is brought out so beautifully in John 17.  He is pouring out His heart, and that type of prayer, also, the emptying of the heart to the Father, will also, always, be answered!

Another example of Jesus’s times in prayer are when He would find time alone with His Father.  “And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, He went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there He prayed.” (Mk 1:35) We can only assume that great communications took place in prayer, seeing the results gained in His ministry after time with His Father.

We too have been made sons and daughters, and can now approach the throne of grace, BOLDLY, to obtain mercy in time of need. “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Heb 4:16)

Our relationship with Jesus and the Father should be no different than Jesus with His Father. But that relationship in prayer is based on FAITH. “Without faith we cannot please God.” (Heb 11:6) But if we do really believe, every prayer is heard and answered. An awful lot depends on us truly believing in that strong Father-son/daughter relationship. Our righteousness to become His sons is paid for by Jesus.

Most people don’t pray from that standpoint of intimate relationship; knowing they’ve been made righteous before God. And therefore they pray half-hearted prayers. The Lord really leaves a lot up to us and our concern in prayer and if we only connect with half a heart, we may end up with half the answer. But if we connect with a whole heart, not as a beggar but as trustful children, we will get a whole-hearted and strong answer.

He says, “You shall seek Me and find Me when you should search for Me with all your heart.”  (Jer 29:13)  I take this to mean that He wants our full attention and devotion when we come to Him, as trustful children.

I believe that I’ve discovered the secret to “PRAYING WITHOUT CEASING”. I’ve made it a habit that whenever I am not involved in a conversation or focusing on something, I immediately reconnect with Jesus and start THANKING Him. I PRAISE Him for the fact that I am made righteous: I’m a son of the Most High because of His love. WOW… plus, I have His authority and power!

And I DISCIPLINE my mind to ONLY think on the things of God because it’s a law of God. “Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts.” (Pro 4:23) What if before expecting God to change our circumstances, we first changed our mind, and aligned it with His Word? We might then pray with less fretting and more confidence.

I force myself to ONLY think on things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely and a good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, I ONLY think on these things. (Phil 4:8) And it really works!

And then, what I need to see happening, I don’t necessarily pray for them, because I know that He will supply all of my needs because we are in constant communication. (Phi 4:19) Instead of worrying, I thank Him for the answer. I command the “rocks” out of my way and I keep praising Him for how much He blesses me. I walk as a SON of the King. That’s my daily, ongoing attitude and conversation with Jesus and the Father. I feel so blessed. I love it.

PRAYING through PRAISING takes the sweat out of prayer and it keeps you in an attitude of magnifying the Lord at ALL times. It keeps your heart humble and thankful. It says, “He gives GRACE to the humble, but he resists the proud.” (Jam 4:6)

If only we could FULLY understand what that truly means: “He gives GRACE to the humble.”  He’s given us the right to live a GRACIOUS life, a victorious, WINNING and abundant rich life, with the wind of God in our sails, every day all day. Now, how COOL is that?!

TRY praising your prayers. You’ll find it easy to pray without ceasing, all day long. “Pray without ceasing, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”  (1Thes 5:17)