“Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.” Jeremiah 32:17.

What is your initial reaction when you encounter a difficult circumstance—one that looks impossible?

Some people go into overdrive searching for an answer or a way out.
Others curl up in defeat or withdrawal, either declaring the situation hopeless or trying to avoid it altogether.

Hopefully, as a Christian-
– you turn immediately to the Lord, seeking His guidance.

But what you ask Him is very important.

“Lord, what am I going to do?”

At first glance, this seems like the right thing to ask, but is it really?

The problem with this question is that even though we are seeking the Lord’s guidance, the focus is on our actions.

That means the way we think about how to handle the situation is limited to our abilities, resources, and understanding.

Often, our minds begin to devise possible plans-
– and we soon resort to manipulating and maneuvering in an attempt to fix the problem.

“God, what are You going to do?”

This is the right question because now the focus has shifted to the omniscience and omnipotence of almighty God.

He blows the sides out of any box that confines us and untangles any situation we find baffling.

He has the power to carry out His plans, which—unlike our solutions—are perfect and always bring Him glory.

To truly pray the second prayer-
– you must be willing to surrender all your plans into His hands.

Not only does He know what to do and how to accomplish it-
– but He can also make a way through any impossibility.

Your job is simply to trust Him and be obedient by following His directions.

(PR)

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“But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.” 1 Peter 4:7.

A soldier was brought before his commanding officer and accused of communicating with the enemy.

He had been seen emerging from an area where their troops were known to patrol.

The poor man summed up his defense in a few words, stating that he had slipped away to spend an hour alone in prayer.

“Have you been in the habit of spending an hour in private prayer?” demanded the officer.
“Yes, Sir,” he replied.

“Well” said his commander, “never in your life have you been in more need of prayer than right now. Kneel down and pray aloud so that we all may hear you.”

Expecting cruel punishment, maybe even death, the soldier dropped to his knees and poured out his heart to God.

His prayer revealed a deep intimacy with God.
His earnest fluency, humble appeal for divine intervention, and very evident trust in one who was strong to deliver, told without a doubt that he came regularly to the throne of grace.

“You are free to go,” said the officer. “No one could have prayed that way without a long apprenticeship — soldiers who never attend drill are always ill at ease for the review.”

I heard a statistic not long ago, that the average Christian only spends about seven minutes a day in prayer.

We need to practice prayer in our lives that we may be able to endure when trials come our way and stand strong against the enemy and his tactics!

Let’s ask the Lord to help us become disciplined in this area today.

(PR)

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“But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly” (Matthew 6:6).

What did our Lord mean when He said:
“Enter into your closet to pray?”

The word “closet” simply means somewhere-
– that you can shut the door on the world and open the windows to heaven.

As you study the life of Jesus-
– you’ll discover that Jesus sought times to be alone.

Sometimes He would go on a mountain, sometimes into the wilderness, and sometimes into a garden.

It is the secret place!
– that is the sacred place!!

When you enter your closet to pray-
Spend some time in silence!
Clear your mind.
Then, listen for His Words of edification, encouragement, and exhortation.

The mark of your prayer life is-
– not really how well you pray in public, but in private!

(PR)

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The moments that sustain us are-
– those moments invested in true devotion and fellowship with the Lord.

Moment of meditation on His Word-
– is the passport to wisdom, innumerable blessings, and unspeakable peace.

Yet at its foundation-
– it is a practical exercise!

Setting aside time.
It doesn’t matter the time of day; more important is your frame of mind.

Stillness.
Being still before God means minimizing distractions.
Turn off the television, the radio, and the phone.
Pray for God to quiet your spirit.

Silence.
Meditation involves active listening.
As you pray and read God’s Word-
– pause to think and listen for His still, small voice.

Seclusion.
It is important that you meditate alone-
– developing a personal relationship with your Father.

Self-control.
We have a responsibility to faithfully seek God, not legalistically but in earnest sincerity.
We do not have to answer impulses or rush to less important matters during our quiet time.

You will learn meditation has several effects!
Among other benefits, meditation-
– quiets your spirit,
– purifies your heart,
– produces a hunger for God and His Word,
– increases your view of God,
– increases your discernment,
– gives you a clear sense of direction for your life,
– and confirms or cautions you about counsel you’ve received.

(PR)

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If someone asks if you’re aware of God-
What will you say?

Maybe you’d reply, “I go to church, read my Bible, and pray all the time. I’m definitely aware of God.”

But the real question is this:
Are you aware of God’s presence and activity in your daily life?

This second question makes it a bit more personal, doesn’t it?
It refers to God being in our daily lives all the time.
We’d like to have that constant awareness of God’s presence.

But it’s difficult.
When hardships and trials come from nowhere, we sometimes feel confused.
We may feel like God has left us so alone.

During difficult times, we might pray even harder and longer.
We plead for help, but see little result.

The problem is that our prayers usually revolve around our desires.
Even when communicating with God, we may be aware only of ourselves, leaving the Lord out of the matter entirely.

At that point-
We may find we’re not really talking to the Father at all.
We’re talking to ourselves!

Soliloquy! (an act of speaking one’s thoughts aloud when by oneself or regardless of any hearers)

Perhaps we’re focusing on the problem and actually wishing for the ability to handle it on our own.

We can, in effect, become completely blind to how God may be working.

Read Second Kings 6:15-17.
You will get a clear picture of what happens when we remove our self-centered blinders and truly see God’s hand at work.

Open your eyes!
You may be shocked to discover the help God has already sent your way.

(PR)

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“Set me free from my prison” (Psalm 142:7).

The heading given to this psalm by the ancient scribes invites us to think of David, falsely accused, on the run, hiding in a cave (1 Sam. 22:1).
We might also think of Paul in Ephesus (and quite possibly in prison), “under great pressure,” feeling he had received “a sentence of death,” forced to rely on “God who raises the dead” (2 Cor 1:8-11).

Our prisons may be literal, economic or a depressive state of mind in which it seems that everyone is against us and no one cares. If that is what we face or feel, we need to see that the psalmist did not stay in prison. He reached a point where he was able to declare: “You are … my portion” (v 5).

These words recall the tradition that the Levites who served the tabernacle received no share when the land was divided (Num 18:20). Instead God said to them, “I am your portion.” How
does the psalmist move-
– from “prison” to “portion”?

Through this prayer!
If we read the psalm 142 in three sections, vs. 1-3a, 3b-5 and 6,7:
– we will notice that each section begins with a description of the psalmist’s plight and ends with an expression of confidence! This surely is what it means to wrestle in prayer. Pouring out complaint gives way to the realization that God knows my way. The feeling that no one cares gives way to the conviction that God is both refuge and portion. Desperate need is replaced by the expectation of deliverance!

Is there any “prison” from which you need to be released?
– A debt, disease, depression, den of lions, demonic habit or an actual prison?
If so –

Use this psalm 147 as a model for “wrestling” with God in prayer!
May the Lord set you free from that prison! And grant you His glorious freedom and portion!! Any you will be filled with His praises!!!

(PR)

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And He went a little farther, and fell on His face, and prayed” (Matthew 26:39).

There are several instructive features: – in our Saviour’s prayer in His hour of trial!
It was a prayer in solitude! He withdrew even from His three favoured disciples.

Believer, be much in solitary prayer, especially in times of trial. Family prayer, social prayer, prayer in the Church, will not suffice, these are very precious! But the best beaten spice will smoke in your censer in your private devotions, where no ear hears but God’s.

It was a prayer of submission! Luke says He knelt, but another evangelist says He “fell on His face.” Are you a humble servant of the great Master? Humility gives us good foot-hold in prayer. There is no hope of prevalence with God unless we abase ourselves that He may exalt us in due time.

It was prayer with Sonship! “Abba, Father.”

You will find it a stronghold in the day of trial to plead your adoption. You have no rights as a subject, you have forfeited them by your treason; But nothing can forfeit a son’s right to a father’s protection. Be not afraid to say, “My Father, hear my cry.”
It was a prayer of steadfastness! He prayed three times.

Cease not until you prevail. Pray without ceasing! Be as the importunate widow, whose continual coming earned what her first supplication could not win. Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving.

It was a prayer of surrender! “Nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”

Let it be as God wills, and God will determine for the best. Be content to leave your prayer in His hands, who knows when to give, and how to give, and what to give, and what to withhold.

So pleading, earnestly, importunately, yet with humility and resignation, you shall surely prevail.

(PR)

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“So be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself to Me there on the top of the mountain. And no man shall come up with you, and let no man be seen throughout all the mountain; let neither flocks nor herds feed before that mountain” (Exodus 34:2-3).

The morning watch is essential.
You must not face the day until you have faced God!

Nor look into the face of others until you have looked into His!!
You cannot expect to be victorious-
– if the day begins only in your own strength.

Face the work of every day with the influence of-
– quiet moments with your heart and God.

Do not meet other people-
– even those of your own home,
– until you have first met the great Guest and honoured Companion of your life.

Meet Him alone!
Meet Him regularly.
Meet Him with His open Book of counsel before you.

And face the regular and the irregular duties of each day-
– with the influence of His personality definitely controlling your every act.

Meet Him in the Morning!

(PR)

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“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:9-10).

Prayer is not meant to change God’s mind.
But to change us and align our thinking with God’s.

When we begin our prayer with praise-
– we take the focus off of ourselves and put it on God.

When we pray for God’s will to be done-
– we take the focus off our desires and put it on God’s desires for our lives.

Jesus taught His disciples to pray, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
For those who recite what we’ve come to know as the Lord’s Prayer on a regular basis, it is very important that we never take those words for granted or treat them like a doxology to a commonplace prayer.
It is the cornerstone, the focus, and the ultimate purpose of prayer.

Jesus, Himself, prayed for God’s will to be done.
In the Garden of Gethsemane , just before his arrest, Jesus prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me.”

His prayer was so intense, capillaries burst and droplets of blood trickled down his forehead.
And yet, as much as He would have welcomed redemption in a way other than the cross, Jesus prayed, “yet, not my will but yours be done” (Luke 22:42).

I am so thankful that God has not answered each of my requests with a “yes.”
My life would be much different than it is today – and I don’t mean for the better.

How thankful I am for my Heavenly Father Who knows what’s best for me!
He has plans that are “above and beyond all that we ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20).

And in order to hear God speak through prayer, we must allow ourselves to think beyond our limited knowledge, to see beyond our limited vision, and to believe beyond our limited understanding.

Prayer turns our focus toward God and allows Him to rearrange our priorities.
It is more than unloading our burdens and enumerating our desires.

Prayer sets our agenda.
Did you ever notice that Jesus didn’t set His agenda and then ask God to bless it? No!

He did only what the Father told Him to do. He “had to go” to Samaria , to the next town, and to Zaccheus’ home for dinner.
He also had to delay his journey to see his ailing friend, Lazarus until he had been dead for three days.

Prayer is more than telling God what we want.
It is asking God what He wants and then following His lead.

(PR)

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Sometimes an unanswered prayer is the best thing for us!

The psalmist says, “And He gave them their request, but sent leanness into their soul” (Psalm 106:15).

The Israelites had prayed selfishly! God was feeding them with manna from heaven, angel’s food, but they wanted meat. All they had to do every morning was step out of their tents, stoop down and pick up the precious, clean, sweet, life-giving manna. But after a while their old appetites came back. They said, “Oh, if somebody would give us some meat to eat.”

So God sent them meat, but while they were eating it, many of them died. (Num 11:31-33).
We can learn from this experience!

First, selfish prayers are dangerous. How dangerous it is to say, “Oh, God, I simply have to have this.” Such prayers are never beneficial.” You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures” (James 4:3).

Second, prayer must change our character. The Israelites got their request, but it didn’t help their character. In fact, they were in worse shape spiritually after they got what they wanted. The prodigal son said, “Father, give me.” He got what he asked for, and it almost ruined him. Then he came home and said, “Father, make me” – and his character changed. He began to be a real son (Luke 15:19). Selfish praying erodes our character, but praying in the will of God builds our character.

Third, we must always pray for God’s will. The purpose of prayer, it has well been said, is not to get man’s will done in heaven but to get God’s will done on earth. Never be afraid to say, “Your will be done.”

God knows best how to answer your prayers – even whether or not to answer them! The psalmist has given three valuable guidelines for effective prayer. Do you apply these to your prayers? Let God use your prayer time to align you to His will and His point of view. Let Him prepare you for His answer!

(PR)

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