• Meaningful Prayer
• How can we make prayer more meaningful?
• First things first:
• You Must Want To.
• Introduction
• Our prayer life is just as important as our obedient life in serving God.
• We need to focus upon our use of prayer.
• And see if we can improve it.
• Improving our prayer will make our whole life more meaningful.
• Let us see some things we can do to improve our prayer life.
• Pray More
• The average Christian spends a very limited amount of time in prayer.
• We often reserve prayer for emergency use only.
• How much time would you estimate you spent in prayer yesterday?
• How much time last week?
• More Daniels are needed today (Dan. 6:10).
• Be More Specific
• Prayers are often far too general, too vague.
• In a collective prayer, perhaps keeping it general is alright.
• More praying should be done for specific people, specific needs, etc,
appropriate for the congregation.
• Perhaps if we made a list of those we need to pray for we could be specific.
• Prayer should be fitted to the occasion and need.
• Praying for rain is more appropriate in drought areas, than others.
• Pray With Greater Faith
• James said that weak faith and futile prayers are connected (James 1:6).
• Doubts and uncertainties hinder prayers.
• The source for a greater faith is God's Word (Romans 10:17).
• Don’t Be Selfish
• James also tells us that a covetous spirit hinders our prayers (4:2).
• Selfish hearts do not gain the ear of God.
• A loving and giving God is seeking to bless those with generous spirits.
• Remember a prayer must be according to God’s will, not your own.
• Pray With Greater Zeal
• Another important ingredient is enthusiasm or fervency, so declares James
(5:16).
• Prayers coming only from the lips, and not from the hearts, are hollow
and empty.
• The Pharisees of Jesus' day prayed such prayers.
• Grow More Godly
• The more righteous we become, the more prayer accomplishes (James 5:16;
1 Peter 3:12).
• Elijah's success in prayer was directly related to his righteousness in
life.
• The rebellious spirit and the unrepented sins will always hinder our prayers
(Proverbs 1:28; Isaiah 59:2).
• Improve Relationships
• Peter tells us that relationships between husbands and wives either help
or hinder prayers (1 Peter 3:7).
• When relationships break down between marriage partners, our relationship
with God is affected.
• Other relationships can break down, and cause our prayers to be affected.
• Grow In Humility
• The first beatitude named by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount was on humility
(Matthew 5:3).
• The proud heart is rejected by God (James 4:6).
• The Pharisee's prayer was rejected because of pride (Luke 18).
• Cultivate A Forgiving Spirit
• Jesus declared that we cannot expect forgiveness from God if we refuse
to forgive our fellowman (Matthew 6:12).
• This is just one of numerous biblical warnings that God's treatment of
us is connected with our treatment of others.
• Persistence In Prayer
• Jesus taught two parables regarding the importance of persistence in prayer
(Luke, chapters 11 and 18).
• In each instance, perseverance was a key ingredient to success.
• Combine Action With Prayer
• Pray as though everything depends upon God.
• Then work as though everything depends upon you.
• Somewhere, I read about a farmer with this sign on his farm: "Pray
for a good harvest, but keep on plowing."
• Pray for the best, but keep a contingency plan available.
• Conclusion
• Prayer is our lifeline to the Creator.
• Prayer is how we thank God for blessings.
• Prayer is how we can ask God to take care of others and even ourselves.
• To pray effectively, we must want to pray better.
• Examine yourself, and see if there is not a way you can improve your prayer
life.
By Carey Scott
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