Don't forget to pray

"(16) Rejoice always, (17) pray without ceasing, (18) in everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."                                                    1 Thessalonians 5:16-18.  NKJV

Prayer is communication with Our Heavenly Father. With prayer, we praise and worship Him and speak intimately to Him. We also ask Him for protection from evil forces. 
Psalm 91:2-4 says, (2)'I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress; my God in Him I will trust. (3) Surely, He shall deliver you from the snare of the Fowler and from the perilous pestilence, (4) He shall cover you with His feathers and under His wings, you shall take refuge.'
Hence, as we ask Him, He places a hedge of protection around us to protect us from enemy attack. But for this to happen, we have to ask Him, we have to pray. William Barclay quotes a Rabbi as saying, 'He who prays within his house, surrounds it with a wall that is stronger than iron.'

The Jews were committed to prayer and had regular times for this. Many of the prayers could be repetitive and of a ritualistic nature quoting rigid prayers over and over again. Some may have just gone through this ritual because of an obligation. William Barclay further comments, 'As Christians there are many occasions when we do precisely the same with the prayer which Christ taught us to pray.'
The Lord's Prayer should always be prayed from the heart, never as a formality that we first learnt at school.

Even our quiet times with God may fall into a kind of formalism, where we pray from a list in a rigid and ritualistic manner. We need to pray in the Spirit and avoid the risk of repetition. Don't forget that prayer is a two-way conversation - us and God. We need to wait and give time for Him to speak to us.

On your next quiet time, why not just sit in the quietness of your prayer-cupboard, before God and just listen for His voice and leading. It may take practise and be difficult to leave the prayer list out for a time. But it may lead you to a deeper place with your Father.

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail