ALWC 40 Days of Prayer

Welcome to 40 Days of Prayer with Abundant Life Worship Center

Over the next 40 days, we will put our focus totally on being a people of prayer and praying together on one accord.  To help you with this process, we will be posting a weekly blog, and on each blog you will find a daily meditation to add to your prayers. We also ask that you make use of the monthly prayer calendar found on your Abundant 7 Announcements.  Prayer Journal Week 1

What is Prayer?

Prayer in its simplest form is “talking with God, listening to God, and moving with God.”  It is a divine conversation that results in guidance and direction to bring God’s will to pass on earth as it is in heaven.  Prayer should become more than just words.  It should become a deeper expression of the soul and spirit and communication with our creator.  Because of its spiritual expression, prayer should become a lifestyle.

When you pray, who are you talking to?

In any conversation or relationship, it is important to know who we are talking or relating to. When we pray we are talking to the triune God; God the Father (the eternal creator), God the Son (Jesus the Christ the redeemer), and God the Holy Spirit (the indwelling presence and power) who is unified as one eternal being, manifested to us in these three distinct ways.  The trinity is best described for our understanding like water.  Water can be presented to us as a liquid (water), a vapor (steam), and/or a solid (ice).  Each we know are water but manifested in three distinct ways fulfilling three distinct purposes. In the same way, God is manifested to us in three (triune) ways. Our privilege is that (in Christ) we have access to the fullness of God and the throne of His grace (in heaven), while His power and presence are with us (on earth), by the Holy Spirit.

As the revelation of who God is increases, we will find our times of prayer become more meaningful and dynamic.  In the Bible, God reveals His nature to us through His names. Let’s begin with some of His Old Testament names.

Elohim – The name is first used in Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning Elohim created the heavens and the earth.”  This name for God means “God the strong and mighty one, the God of creation and nature, One who is to be feared/reverenced.”

El Shaddai – Refers to God a s possessing all power in heaven and on earth before whom all else bows.  He is the source of all blessing and comfort.

Yahweh – “The God of grace, the God who is dependable, the faithful One, the God who is constant and in whom there is no change, the One who can be counted on to be all that He claims to be.”  Psalm 23 begins with, “Yahweh is my shepherd.”

 

Prayer is Listening to God

Most of us are comfortable with the concept of talking to God, but many are unclear about listening to God.

How does God communicate with us?  Primarily, He speaks through His Word (the Bible).  The really can be no meaningful praying if there is no reading of the Word. This is very important, because a key goal for praying should be discerning God’s will and direction.  His Word, the Holy Scriptures is the basic guide to understanding His will, for all believers.

God also speaks through His Holy Spirit. As we pray, we feel lead to a certain conclusion regarding a situation; or have something suddenly come to your remembrance at just the right time. You may sense the presence of the Holy Spirit in or around you, giving you peace about a problem or situation, or you may feel flooded with joy.

There should be times when you sit quietly and relax before the Lord and allow the Holy Spirit to speak to you. This is a time to be refreshed and renewed.  To pour out your heart before God is important, but after that we must be attentive and expectant to hear from God and allow Him to pour into us. You can listen at any point in your times of prayer; beginning, middle or end.  You can also just get quiet anytime during your day and allow Him to speak.  The important thing is to let God speak to you – from His Word and by His Spirit.

Praying is Moving With God

In the process of learning to pray, we come to understand that prayer is the highest privilege and the greatest weapon in the Christian life. It is a privilege because at any moment we can spiritually come before God in prayer. It is a weapon because through prayer we gather spiritual victories and natural direction. When a believer does not fully understand prayer, there can come a discouragement or frustration, leading people to question “why should we pray?’  Prayer can be the most important and powerful activity in your life. Here are the primary reasons why.

  • Prayer is an act of Dedication. By making prayer a priority in our lives we become a priority to God.
  • Prayer is an act of Communication. God chooses to have a two-way conversation with us.
  • Prayer is an act of Supplication. We can bring our most intimate requests to God.
  • Prayer is an act of Cooperation. It is God’s way of allowing us to partner with Him to accomplish His purposes
  • Your prayers release the power of God into the most hopeless situations.  
  • Prayers can penetrate places where no man or woman can go. 
  • Prayer makes the impossible possible.
 

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