Champions. We see them as winners, extraordinary bunch of people. Champions no overnight winners. Hidden from the eyes of the world, they toil and train hard enough till they are ready to be the strongest. Being the strongest is not having strength or ability at the peak of performance, but being the hanging on, staying sharp and focus to the finishing line, having the endurances to excel in the midst of weakness.
In a marathon, The first 100 metres sprint and the last 100m dash for the finishing line does not count if one falls short in the middle of it.
How is this applicable to our lives?
ISCF camp 09' had concluded about 3 months ago. This is the time when we are back to our own lives. Camps can get anyone excited about God and after the camp, most of us will tend to fall back to how we live our life like how we live it before the camp. Most of the time, we get so connected with life and the world till we get disconnected with God.
What can WE do to keep the fire, keep connected and stay on, sharp and focus?
-Prayer
-Devotion
-Diligently seeking and reading God's word.
This is will be the training to stay sharp and focus.
WHAT IS PRAYER?
For true Christians, prayer is "communion with God".
Through prayer we actually experience relationship with God.
The quality of our prayer life then determines the quality of our relationship with God.
Prayer is talking with God. Prayer is listening to God. Prayer is enjoying the presence of God.
It can take many forms - for example: worship, confession, thanksgiving, praise, petition (asking for things), waiting (silent, listening and sensing of God) and warfare (command).
If we are baptized in the Spirit we can pray with the spirit, in languages unknown to us but not to God. (1 Corinthians 14:2,14).
Prayer is not simply saying words. It is not repeating formulas.
God is looking for heartfelt relationship. We are told by Jesus not to make meaningless repetitions of words when we pray. (Mathew 6:7). Tongues may be meaningless to our understanding, but it is not to God. In a future lesson we will give more attention to this subject.
WHY PRAY?
1. We pray because we love God. We spend time with God in prayer and communion because we love him. Just as a man and woman in love desire to be together and communicate, so we - if we love God - will desire to be with Him and to fellowship with Him in proportion to our love for Him.
2. We pray because we depend on God. God is our source. He is our life (Colossians 3:4). Through prayer we receive the comfort, the strength and all the other resources that we need in life - both naturally and spiritually. Prayer - relationship to God - is as necessary to the spiritual life as air to the natural life.
3. We need to pray in order to resist temptation. "Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation." (Mt. 26:41). Much sin is the result of the sin of prayerlessness. Through lack of prayer, we are weak, others are weaker and Satan gains the advantage in our lives.
4. We need to pray because it is necessary for men to invite God to act in salvation. God gave the earth to Adam and his descendants. We must invite God to work here. If no-one invites God to work here, Satan (the god of this world through man's universal rebellion - 2 Corinthians 4:4) will dominate the affairs of men and eventually the judgment of God will come. By inviting God often and specifically, multitudes can be saved that would otherwise be lost.
5. We need to pray because God commands us to pray. "Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving." (Colossians 4:2). "Then he [Jesus] spoke a parable to them to this end, that men ought always to pray and not lose heart." (Luke 18:1). The need to pray is as great as the authority of God which commands us: "Pray without ceasing." (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Prayer is so vital to all that God wants to do on the earth, and so essential to us, that God commands us to do it all the time. We should even deny ourselves sleep and food at times in order to pray more and with greater power. (Matthew 6:16; Luke 6:12; Luke 21:36; Colossians 4:2; 2 Corinthians 11:27).
What Makes Prayer Work?
It's all about a relationship!God has created mankind so that we naturally hunger for a relationship with Him. He has built that yearning for Himself into our frame; He has encoded eternal longings in our spiritual DNA structure. The Scripture says, "He has also set eternity in the hearts of men" (Eccl. 3:11). The famous theologian, C.S. Lewis, wrote "If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world." (Mere Christianity)
Prayer is the bridge between Heaven and Earth. It is the conduit through which the spiritual realm is brought into our everyday lives. Prayer is the way our spirits breathe. Just as our lungs require oxygen and are designed to seek it out, so our spirits require the presence of God and are designed to seek Him out. Without His presence, we are left gasping for meaning and desperately seeking our purpose in life. We find ourselves trying our best to pray because it is as needful as air for our lungs. Prayer is the method God uses to provide not only our daily needs from food to shelter but also comfort, strength and guidance. The late E. Stanley Jones, missionary and preacher, wrote, "Prayer ... is the opening of a channel from my emptiness into His fullness." (Abundant Living)
Answers depend on the relationship!
You find yourself drawn to prayer, curious about prayer, or even desperate for prayer. Maybe you've tried prayer and prayer has failed you. Maybe you can point to unanswered prayer after unanswered prayer, proving that prayer doesn't work.
Does that describe you?
Welcome! You are at this Web site because God wants you to understand how you can have a fulfilling relationship with Him that will turn prayer from a fruitless exercise to an exciting adventure.
Prayer = Love
Prayer works in the context of relationship. Once the relationship is established, you will find that prayer is its natural expression. It is simply speaking and listening to your Heavenly Father. God wants to answer our prayers. Answered prayer is how He manifests Himself in our life and makes this relationship personal "For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him." Prayer is the intimacy that flows spontaneously from a loving relationship.
Imagine that you went into a restaurant with your father. Imagine that you and your father ordered your meals, and when the waiter brought them to your table, he said to your father, "That looks delicious. I want to try a bite of that!" Then imagine the waiter picks up a fork and helps himself to a bite from your father's plate. It would be inappropriate. You would be offended. You would demand an apology.
Now imagine that you and your father ordered your meals, the waiter brought them to your table, and you said to your father, "That looks delicious. I want to try a bite of that!" Imagine that you pick up a fork and help yourself to a bite from your father's plate. It would be natural. Your father would be happy to share his meal with you. It would be an accepted intimacy.
What is the difference between the two scenarios? Not the words. Not the actions. Not the intention. The difference is the relationship. The child has access to the father that the stranger does not. (Adapted from Live a Praying Life by Jennifer Kennedy Dean)
Prayer starts with the relationship.
We need to get re-connected. This will help us go on and on, staying sharp and focus to the finishing line, having the endurances to excel in the midst of weakness.
God bless =)
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