A Magnolia's Heart Beats

Thankful Thursday - Prayer

Lori at Lori's Reflections is hosting Thankful Thursday this week. The theme she has chosen is prayer.

She had this to say. "This week the United States has a new President. No matter how we feel about him, the Lord calls us to pray for our leaders. So this week my theme is prayer. Martin Luther had some strong words about prayer, “Prayer is a strong wall and fortress of the church; it is a goodly Christian weapon.”"

I heartily agree and am praying for our new leader.

I am so thankful for prayer. Prayer is a privelege, not an obligation. There are many ways we can approach God in prayer. Whether we pray in private or publicly, whether we pray God's Word back to Him or pray the heartbeats of our soul, we may count it a precious opportunity to talk to and listen to God.

The word pray and many of it's derivatives is mentioned 508 times in the KJV Bible. It's an important word and an important act that we as believers should note.

Did you know that your prayers are powerful and effective?

"The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.." ~ James 5:16b (KJV)

The Greek word for righteous is dikaios, which means:

1) righteous, observing divine laws
a) in a wide sense, upright, righteous, virtuous, keeping the commands of God
1) of those who seem to themselves to be righteous, who pride themselves to be righteous, who pride themselves in their virtues, whether real or imagined
2) innocent, faultless, guiltless
3) used of him whose way of thinking, feeling, and acting is wholly conformed to the will of God, and who therefore needs no rectification in the heart or life
a) only Christ truly
4) approved of or acceptable of God
b) in a narrower sense, rendering to each his due and that in a judicial sense, passing just judgment on others, whether expressed in words or shown by the manner of dealing with them

If you have accepted Christ as your Savior, you are considered righteous in Him. Only in Christ may we be made righteous.

"It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption." ~ 1 Corinthians 1:30 (NIV, Emphasis, mine)

What a privelege to be called righteous in Him! And it is because of our righteousness in Christ that are prayers should be and can be effectual and fervent.

The Greek word for effectual fervent is energeō, which means:

1) to be operative, be at work, put forth power
a) to work for one, aid one
2) to effect
3) to display one's activity, show one's self operative

We can be sure that our prayers display our commitment to God to seek His will and purpose for our lives. When we put forth the effort and show ourselves to be prayer warriors to God in this manner, our prayers are strong and are answered by God.

The Greek word for availeth is ischyō, which means:

1) to be strong
a) to be strong in body, to be robust, to be in sound health
2) to have power
a) to have power as shown by extraordinary deeds
1) to exert, wield power, to have strength to overcome
b) to be a force, avail
c) to be serviceable
d) to be able, can

What confidence we can have in prayer! We must trust God to answer our prayers according to His will and purpose for our lives.

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." ~ Romans 8:28 (NIV)

How is your prayer life? Do you find prayer more of an obligation or a privelege? I have found that I cannot get through a single day without it. I begin each day in prayer, find myself praying throughout the day, and end it in prayer. I am simply unable to fall asleep (unless it is midnight and I'm rocking a grandson) without praying first. I have made it such a habit to pray before I sleep that I simply don't rest if I haven't prayed. I never get discouraged in my prayers to God. My complete faith is in Him to work His will for the situation I bring Him. I admit that I get concerned, but mostly it's when I take my eyes off Him and expect things to be done in my timing and my way. Then I must re-focus on Him and remember never to give up in prayer.

Prayer doesn't have to be complicated. It's meant to be liberating! As children of the Most High God, He longs for us to communicate with Him. How would you feel if one of your children went for days at a time without speaking, or only spoke to you when they needed something? God longs for us to call out to Him in prayer so He can act on our behalf according to His will and purpose.

"Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act." ~ Psalm 37:5 (NIV)

One thing I used to try to do was pattern my prayer life after examples of other people. I thought I had to pray a certain formula, like ACTS (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication) or was it CATS (Confession, then Adoration, Thanksgiving and Supplication)? I thought I had to pray the Lord's Prayer in there somewhere and pray for at least 20 minutes at a time. While we can certainly pray this way, and I do sometimes, prayer should never get so legalistic that it loses it's thrill. We should remember to talk to God, although in reverence and awe, as though we are talking with a friend.

Whether we pray a quick one-sentence prayer for someone in passing (Lord, please be with Michael, I know he's struggling in his new job...thank You for letting that car not rear-end me!) or whether we set apart a quiet time to come before Him and pour our hearts out to Him, we can be thankful for this:

"This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him." ~ 1 John 5:14-15 (NIV)

Yes, what a privelege it is to pray! My heart is so thankful for prayer.

P - Present your all your requests to God with thanksgiving. "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." Philippians 4:6 (NIV)

R - Remember that His purpose will prevail and trust in His will. "Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails." ~ Proverbs 19:21 (NIV)

A - Allow for multiple prayer times throughout the day. "Pray without ceasing." ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:17 (KJV)

Y - Yearn to spend more time with Him in prayer. "Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful." ~ Colossians 4:2 (NIV)

E - Exalt and praise God in prayer. "The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God my Savior!" ~ Psalm 18:46 (NIV)

R - Remember to ask for His cleansing when needed. "Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place. Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow." ~ Psalm 51:6-7 (NIV)

To participate in Thankful Thursday, click on the button below. Be sure to drop Lori a line thanking her for hosting for Iris for the rest of January! What a sweetheart she is to do this.