Philippians 4:6 Don’t be bothered about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.
What a wonderful verse to turn us from ourselves, our daily issues and bring our minds and hearts to God.
It is nothing less than the surrender to such a life of simple and entire obedience that is implied in becoming a Christian. There are, alas! too many Christians who, from the want either of proper instruction, or of proper attention to the teaching of God’s word, have never realized the place of supreme importance that obedience takes in the Christian life. They know not that Christ, and redemption, and faith all lead to it, because through it alone is the way to the fellowship of the Love, and the Likeness, and the Glory of God. We have all, possibly, suffered from it ourselves: in our prayers and efforts after the perfect peace and the rest of faith, after the abiding joy and the increasing power of the Christian life, there has been a secret something hindering the blessing, or causing the speedy loss of what had been apprehended. A wrong impression as to the absolute necessity of obedience was probably the cause. It cannot too earnestly be insisted on that the freeness and mighty power of grace has this for its object from our conversion onwards, the restoring us to the active obedience and harmony with God’s will from which we had fallen through the first sin in Paradise. Obedience leads to God and His Holiness. It is in obedience that the will is moulded, and the character fashioned, and an inner man built up which God can clothe and adorn with the beauty of holiness.
Such obedience is the pathway of holiness. Its every act is a link to the living God, a surrender of the being for God’s will, for God Himself to take possession. In the process of assimilation, slow but sure, by which the will of God, as the meat of our souls, is taken up into our inmost being, our spiritual nature is strengthened, is spiritualized, growing up into an holy temple in which God can reveal Himself and take up His abode.
1. ‘He became obedient unto death.’ ‘Though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.’ ‘I come to do Thy will.’ ‘In which will we are sanctified.’ Christ’s example teaches us that obedience is the only path to the Holiness or the glory of God. Be this your consecration: a surrender in everything to seek and do the will of God.
from Holy in Christ by Andrew Murray
A lack of interest exists in many places, so that the assembly for prayer is despised, and put down as a second-rate affair: ‘only a prayer meeting.’ Is this a right view of the throne of grace? Will this bring blessing? In certain churches; there is no union, and consequently no agreement in prayer: ‘their heart is divided; now shall they be found wanting;’ and wanting they are in their assemblies for prayer. In such a case, a feeble prayer meeting is an effect as well as a cause of disunion; and till this is altered, we may expect to see more and more of ‘the divisions of Reuben.’ Prayer is a grand cement; and lack of prayer is like withdrawing the force of gravitation from a mass of matter, and scattering it into so many separate atoms. Some churches are feeble all round; the members are a race of invalids, a body of infirm pensioners who can hardly hobble about in the ways of godliness. They have no life, no energy, or enterprise for Christ; and do you wonder at it when their meetings for prayer are so scantily attended?
from Only A Prayer-meeting by Charles Spurgeon
The Morning time with God in the Word and prayer is crucial to our spiritual life. Just like breakfast giving us the energy start for the day, our time in the morning in prayer is very important. We have examples from Moses, David, Daniel, Jesus and others where the early morning prayer was practiced much.
Consider all these verses:
Exodus 34:1 And the LORD said unto Moses, … 2 And be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning unto mount Sinai, and present thyself there to me in the top of the mount.
Psalms 5:3 My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct [my prayer] unto thee, and will look up.
Psalms 55:17 7 Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.
Psalms 88:13 3 But unto thee have I cried, O LORD; and in the morning shall my prayer prevent thee.
Mark 1:35 And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.
Psalms 88:13 But to You I have cried out, O LORD, And in the morning my prayer comes before You.
Look at Romans 8:27 And He who searches the hearts knows the Spirit’s mind-set, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
The Spirit is our prayer helper, sometime we just need to pray, but what are the words, what is the burden. Well the Spirit knows. This is of great encouragement for us mortal fallen human beings.
In Ephesians 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints —
Wow, note the connection between the Word of God and prayer. So the Word of God is really import to our prayer life. More about that later.
The Bible is the Word of God. Few things can change your life for the better than the time you spend studying God’s Word. Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, said this of God’s wisdom, “13 Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding. 14 For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold. 15 She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her. 16 Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honour.” Again in Proverbs 8:10-11 where wisdom personified is speaking, “Receive my instruction, and not silver, And knowledge rather than choice gold; For wisdom is better than rubies, And all the things one may desire cannot be compared with her.” Read those verses again! God’s wisdom is a treasure. Who doesn’t love the thought of going on a treasure hunt? If we knew the location of some buried treasure, we would spare no effort to find it. If we had to miss a meal or two while we dig for treasure—no problem! Job felt that way, “I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food” (Job 23:12b). Job didn’t just say God’s Word was more important to him than food but more important than his necessary food. Think about it! The importance of God’s Word wasn’t lost on Jeremiah either, “Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and Thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart” (Jeremiah 15:16).
Its great to get prayer encouragement from others who have gone before, especially in the matter of prayer.
“Oh, will you pray? Stop now and pray, lest desire turn to feeling and feeling evaporate.” from Amy Carmichael.
Great quote, so what happens when we don’t pray, its seems the burden seems to disappear. Sometimes it comes back, sometime it does not. So we must pray when the Spirit gives us that little push from inside.
Think of the place God had in Moses’ life, as the God who had sent him, the God to whom he was totally devoted, the God who had promised to be with him, and who would and did always help him when he prayed.
Now for the practical application: How to learn to pray like Moses? We cannot secure this grace by an act of the will. Out first lesson must be the sense of impotence. Then grace will work it in us, slowly and surely, if we give ourselves into its training. But though the training will be gradual, there is one thing that can be done at once. We can at once decide to give ourselves to this life and take up the right position. Do this now. Take the decision, to LIVE ENTIRELY TO BE A CHANNEL FOR GOD’S BLESSING TO FLOW THROUGH YOU TO THE WORLD. TAKE THE STEP. If need be, take ten minutes for deliberate thought. Accept the Divine appointment, and take up some object of intercession.
Take time, say a week, and get firm hold on the elementary truths Moses’ example teaches. As a music teacher insists upon practicing the scales—only practice makes perfect. Set yourself to learn thoroughly and to apply the needed first lessons. God seeks men through whom He can bless the world. Say definitely, Here am I. I will give my life to this. Cultivate large faith in the simple truth: God hears prayer; God will do what I ask.
Give yourself wholly to men as to God, and set your eyes open to a sense of the need of a perishing world. Take your position in Christ, and in the power which His Name, and Life and Spirit give you, and go on practicing definite intercession.
These are quotes from The Inner Chamber by Andrew Murray.