Prayer is simply talking to God. As believers, we have access to God the Father through our relationship with Jesus Christ. Prayer reminds us we are dependent on God for every aspect of our lives and we grow in that relationship by communing with Him in prayer. Donald Whitney reminds us in regards to the spiritual disciplines that prayer is second only to Bible intake in the order of importance.
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Prayer is not demanding but we are coming before the Lord with open hands to what He knows is best for us.
You can find all podcasts on the Spiritual Disciplines in this series here. The two books I'm utilizing the most for the series are Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life and Habits of Grace.
Show Notes:
“You might think of praying without ceasing as communicating with God on one line while also taking calls on another. Even while you are talking on the other line, you never lose your awareness of the need to return your attention to the Lord. So praying without ceasing means you never really stop conversing with God; you simply have frequent interruptions.” ~ Donald Whitney
“As it is the business of tailors to make clothes and of cobblers to mend shoes so it is the business of Christians to pray.” ~ Martin Luther
“Get into some quiet nook, some secret place, no matter where. Shut thy door, so that nobody can hear you – not wishing anybody to know even that you are at prayer.” ~ Charles Spurgeon
“Much prayer is to be highly commended for its reverence but it has in it a lack of childlike confidence. I can admire the solemn and stately language of worship that recognizes the greatness of God, but it will not warm my heart nor express my soul until it has also blended with the joyful nearness of that perfect love that drives out fear (1 John 4:18) and ventures to speak with our Father in heaven as a child speaks with its father on earth.” ~ Charles Spurgeon
“Before we can pray, ‘Thy Kingdom come,’ we must be willing to pray, ‘My kingdom go.’ ” ~ Alan Redpath
“We put our hands into God’s in the morning, and we ask Him to lead us through the day. We know not what experiences may come to us and we ask him not to bring us into sore testings. The prayer is a request that in the doing of God’s Will for the day we may not be brought into places where it will be hard for us to be faithful.” ~ J.R. Miller
“We are taught to ask God to deliver us from the evil that is in the world, the evil that is within our own hearts, and not least from the evil one, the devil. We confess that, so long as we are in the body, we are constantly seeing, hearing, and feeling the presence of evil. It is about us, and within us, and around us on every side. We entreat him who alone can preserve us to be continually delivering us from its power.”~J. C. Ryle
“My mind being now more open and enlarged, I began to read the Holy Scriptures upon my knees, laying aside all other books and praying over, if possible, every line and word. This proved meat indeed and drink indeed to my soul. I daily received fresh life, light, and power from above. I got more true knowledge from reading the Book of God in one month than I could ever have acquired from all writings of men.” ~ George Whitefield
“Prayerful people become godly people, for prayerfulness with God cultivates godliness in all of life.” ~Donald Whitney
“What is the reason that some believers are so much brighter and holier than others? I believe the difference, in nineteen cases out of twenty, arises from different habits about private prayer. I believe that those who are not eminently holy pray little and those who are eminently holy pray much.” ~ J. C. Ryle
Scripture & Resources:
John 1:12
John 16:33
Matthew 6:5-7
Colossians 4:2
1 Thessalonians 5:17
Luke 5:16
Luke 9:28
Matthew 19:13
John 4:24, John 8:32
Matthew 26:39
Luke 18:1
Matthew 6:5-14
Hebrews 10:19-25
Matthew 6:25-34
Psalm 23
Matthew 7:7-8
PrayerMate App – Tim Challies Review of the PrayerMate App Video and Blog Post.
Revive Our Hearst Brokenness Bookmark
Bookmark Prayer Cards Sampler Pack from Navigators (these are a favorite of mine)
Lifting my Family in Prayer Bookmarks from Family Life
Have a Real Prayer Closet – @The Center for Biblical Spirituality
Prayer Binder (the one I use)
The Lord's Prayer teaching series by R.C. Sproul
Books:
Praying the Lord's Prayer by J.I. Packer
The Prayer of the Lord by R.C. Sproul
On Earth as it is in Heaven by Warren Wiersbe
Praying the Attributes of God by Rosemary Jensen
Setting their Hope in God: Biblical Intercession for Your Children by Andrew Case
Prayers of an Excellent Wife by Andrew Case
Praying the Light: Unfolding the rich intercession of the Bible by Andrew Case
The One Year Praying through the Bible for Your Kids by Nancy Guthrie
Praying the Bible by Donald Whitney
The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions by Arthur Bennett
Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God by Timothy Keller
Praying with Paul: A Call to Spiritual Reformation by D.A. Carson
Resource of the Week:
American Gospel: Christ Alone – To rent/purchase on Amazon or to purchase DVD, Watch a preview here.
I purchased your Homemaking 101 video years ago. Soon after viewing it several times, it stopped working. I love it!!!! I was wondering if you could send me another one. It has been sitting in my video cabinet gathering dust. ??I was just devluttering, but did not want to throw it away without asking. Thank you!! You are an inspiration!! donna_johnson@abss.k12.nc.us
Hello Donna, I didn’t make the Homemaking 101 DVD but a friend of mine did and I’m honestly not sure if she still sells them. It’s my friend Jennifer and she blogs at Confidently Called -http://confidentlycalled.com
Hope this helps and have fun with you’re decluttering xo