The Gift of Prayer

Sweet is the precious gift of prayer,

To bow before a throne of grace;

To leave our every burden there,

And gain new strength to run our race;

To gird our heavenly armor on,

Depending on the Lord alone.

                                                     —Author Unknown

 

Gifts come in all sizes and shapes and for many different occasions. Some gifts may be very elaborate and expensive while others are simple offerings from a child’s hand. Usually presents are given to encourage, express love and appreciation, and to bring joy to the recipient’s heart.  But when a gift is given out of a sense of responsibility or duty, there is little joy for either the giver or the recipient.

 

One of the greatest gifts to mankind is the gift of prayer.  It was an expensive gift, for it cost God the life of His own dear Son to have a relationship with us.  And that’s what prayer is—a relationship between God’s heart and our hearts.

 

Relationships don’t automatically evolve. They take time, energy, and effort. Someone initiates the relationship and then both parties must participate for the relationship to grow.

 

One of the primary ingredients in any successful relationship is time spent together sharing your hearts—your goals, dreams, and heartaches.  Fellowship fosters a bonding of lives and enhances the relationship.  The more time you spend together the stronger the relationship becomes.

 

God desires a relationship with believers.  He wants to encourage and equip us to live power-filled lives and bring peace and joy to our hearts. God initiated the relationship in the Garden of Eden and proved it on Calvary. He took the first step.  Now it’s up to us to respond.

 

Prayer is one of the ways we respond to God’s wooing and is a vital ingredient to a satisfying relationship with Him. Prayer is also a gift we give to the Lord.  It’s putting our to-do lists aside, blocking out the world, and thinking about His majesty, glory, faithfulness, power, and holiness.  This relationship isn’t determined by eloquent phrases or vast Bible knowledge. It’s built upon time—fellowshipping together and sharing our heart’s desires, fears, concerns, pain, and then listening for His responses. It’s from our hearts to God’s heart.

 

Our lives are fast paced and often hectic. Regardless of our schedules, busyness, or heartaches, God is not confused, stressed, or frustrated. He is in control.  Nothing takes Him by surprise. He knows the situations we face and He knows tomorrow.  He is the promise-keeping King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

 

If we think of prayer as a duty or an obligation, if we leave it tucked away in the recesses of our minds only to be used when it’s convenient, we miss the sweetness and blessings of fellowshipping with the Lord, we enter the world ill-equipped and powerless, … and we devalue His gift.

 

When we choose to spend time communing with Him, when we express our love and appreciation to Him, it brings joy to His heart.  It’s all about a love relationship! Prayer is truly a gift!

 

“Though in its beginnings prayer is so simple that the feeblest child can pray, yet it is at the same time the highest and holiest work to which man can rise.  It is fellowship with the Unseen and Most Holy One…It is the very essence of true religion, the channel of all blessings, the secret of power and life.”   Andrew Murray

 

 

 

 

 

PRAYER SUPPORT

 

“I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions,

and giving of thanks, be made for all men.”  1 Timothy 2:1

 

Each of us needs prayer support. Scripture tells us when the people prayed and Peter stood up to preach at Pentecost, three thousand hearts were changed. A similar situation occurred when the people prayed all night for John Livingstone before he preached the next day at Shotts. The result: five hundred souls made decisions for Christ.  Before Spurgeon stepped forward to proclaim God’s truth, he was surrounded by men who had spent a half hour in prayer asking God to glorify His name through the words from Spurgeon’s lips.  Even the apostle Paul, in his sense of insufficiency, said, “Pray for us.”

 

As you step out in faith presenting Christ, a team of prayer warriors is available to offer you prayer support.  Please email us at edwina@redeemingthetime.org and we will faithfully intercede for you.