Praying!

Prayer

1. "Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with a deity, an object of worship, or a spiritual entity through deliberate communication. Prayer can be a form of religious practice, may be either individual or communal and take place in public or in private. It may involve the use of words or song".

I remember the first time I tried praying. To be precise, I prayed from the age of 5/6, but as a Muslim. We said our prayers 5 times a day. Praying then as a little girl felt good because when you pray, you feel a little more connected to a superior being. A being you cannot see but believe in. At the time (before my sister spoilt all the fun!), I believed in Santa Clause and the Tooth Fairy. And I also believed in Allah.

I remember going to Nigeria, September 1993 and staying with a relative temporarily in Benin I think. I was about 7 and a family friend of ours, Auntie Uche, asked if I knew how to pray. I said, well yes, I do my ablution, bring out my mat, hold on to my beads and face Mecca and then pray. I tried to pray 5 times everyday.

She looked and said, well that's fantastic, but do you know about Jesus Christ and being a Christian? Well, no. Not really. But I remember before we converted to Islam, we used to go to Sunday school at a church not far from our house in Mill Hill. She explained that I can become a Christian again and pray as many times as I want, any time of the day. She said first, I would need to know who our God is and develop a relationship with Him. I was 7, so my spiritual knowledge was very limited. It wasn't really at the forefront of my mind. But as I started living with a Christian family permanently, I couldn't exclude myself from their routine. I had to fit in. I participated in every daily devotion and every church gathering, be it a meeting, a Bible study class, night vigil or Sunday School. My Uncle, who I was staying with is a minister so we had to attend every church activity/service.

Today, I want to concentrate on our personal prayer life with Christ. There was one Sunday I was in church and my pastor said, the only way you can learn how to pray, is by actually praying. Don't look at praying as a chore or a routine. See it more as a communication with God. Everyday, we communicate with human beings. Sometimes we are constantly chatting to someone in our presence or someone on the phone or someone online. But isn't it amazing to understand that God is with us 24 hours of the day 7 days of the week 365 days of the year. We do not need to pick up the phone to talk to Him. We can pick and choose when and where we want to communicate with Him. And its free! Its not judgmental. We can be on the train and talk to him. We can go on our knees in the comfort of our bedroom and have a conversation with Him. We don't need and appointment and we don't need to arrange a meeting. We can come as we are, with our whole heart, even if it is full of sin. God wants us to communicate with Him more. To have an effective communication with God, we need to communicate with Him in His own language. His "language", is the Word. Once you become familiar with the Word, you feel more comfortable talking to God about the Word. You understand who God is more and you learn so much. The Bible (where you find His word), isn't a fiction or non-fiction or a storybook or novel. It is the Book of Life. It is funny how you can read the same book over and over again, year in year out, for 100 years and get a different revelation each time. There is nothing you are going through today, that you cannot find in this said Book of Life. So lets try and reacquaint ourselves with the Word of God, and also learn how to pray more.

As a starting point, let's look at the way Jesus taught us to pray.

Matthew 6:9-13King James Version (KJV)

9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

10 Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

11 Give us this day our daily bread.

12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

To help today, I have looked up what the Bible says about prayer/praying. Its quite a few, but please read through. You will be inspired.

1 Chronicles 16: 11

Seek the Lord and his strength, seek his face continually

Psalm 4: 1

(To the chief Musician on Neginoth, A Psalm of David.) Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer.

Psalm 145: 18

The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.

Proverbs 15: 29

The Lord is far from the wicked: but he heareth the prayer of the righteous

Matthew 7: 11

If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?

Luke 6: 12

And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.

Luke 18: 1

And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;

Romans 8: 26

Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

Philippians 4: 6

Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

Colossians 4: 2

Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;

1 Thessalonians 5: 17

Pray without ceasing.

1 Timothy 2: 8

I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.

Hebrews 4: 14

Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into heavens, Jesus the son of God, let us hold fast our profession.

James 5: 16

Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

1 Timothy 2: 1 - 3

I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving thanks, be made for all men; For Kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;

1 John 1: 9

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

One last thing I was going to say about praying is, when you pray, sometimes, listen to your spirit. God usually responds. Try listening for a response. Sometimes its less obvious than you will imagine. Another thing I was taught is this, when you pray, be happy. Expect answers to your prayer and let your countenance reflect the outcome of your prayer. Other times, you may not see the answer to your prayer immediately, but it doesn't mean that your prayer has not been answered.

What's your favourite Bible verse on prayer?

Pray! Jesus Loves You!

Be Inspired

xoxo