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allhavsinned
Member



Joined: 2005/8/1
Posts: 201
North West England

 Re:

Discipline is so important, we need it in every aspect of our lives.

Prayer discipline can be more than the same hour or so each day, these are good of course, we should get up early and start off our day in prayer and the bible, and end our day in thanks too, but I find that even if i have 'done my prayer time today' that there comes a space in the day when I hear God's still small voice suggesting 'you have a spare hour now, are you going to give it to me?' sometimes I do, sometimes I get distracted and don't.

But that is discipline too, to obey when He calls. Like Annie said earlier on, our prayer life is ongoing, not just an hour here or there, but throughout the day.

So, try not to be so busy so that we can listen to Him, He will guide our paths.

(just to throw a cat in with the pigeons... getting rid of the TV does give us more free time to hear Him and to get close to Him ;-) )

Ste


_________________
Ste

 2006/2/28 17:59Profile
deltadom
Member



Joined: 2005/1/6
Posts: 2359
Hemel Hempstead

 Re:

Does anybody find that how much you have read the bible, you can pray alot easier and do you find that sin gets in the way of praying.
Like david was stopped from praying and god needed to deal with it.
like today I bought something which i shouldnt have.
I feel such a failure at prayer.


_________________
Dominic Shiells

 2006/2/28 19:29Profile









 Re:

Satan is constantly working at trying to pull us away from our first love. That's why he uses temptation that will result in sin if were not careful. Sin will hinder our prayers, that's why we should remain on gaurd at all times. Never take off our armour. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Overcome temptation and you will become stronger. Sucomb(spelling?) to temptation and you get weaker.

If we find that we are in this situation, ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the sins that so easily beset us so that we might ask forgiveness and be brought back into the fellowship of the King.

"Prayer should be our very breath" as John Wesley would say. It's the life of a christian, the fuel that keeps us going. we start losing ground when we forget to pray. I know this all too well. Just when I start making leaps and bounds in my christian life, and feel I've discovered the true power of prayer, something comes along to draw me away from this secret communion with my master. It never seems to fail. I discover how to pray and how to be effective and how to be Spirit filled, and along comes another setback. It's these times that I wish I could perservere and break through and see what new heights of spiritual maturity the Lord will take me to.

Anyone else feel the same way? :-(

 2006/2/28 19:55
Greenquality
Member



Joined: 2006/1/26
Posts: 189
mountains of Pa.

 Re:

[u]Our Father,Who art in heaven[/u]Because Of Jesus Christ we Can call Upon God as Father,In the old testatment the people of God did not dare to adress God in prayer with the intimate name of Father .Only threw the cross,for remission of sins,and by the blood of The Lamb. we can speak to TO the Father .......( Hallowed be thy name,Thy Kingdom come)......(Thy will be done in earth,as it is in heaven).....We pray for Gods will for all those ,who are in need of Him,we pray for Gods kingdom to Come.......(Give us this day our daily, bread)........,Matt4:4 "Man shall not live by bread alone,But by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God......(Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us)..........This is given as a reminder that we are all sinners,we must constanly ask God to forgive us,very often we do not see our sins,or even feel that we are sinners.Apostle paul reminds us" If we say we have no sin,we deceive ourselves."Any virtue we may have proceeds from God." IF we are Loving,it's because God loved us first"....If we are merciful,it is because God is merciful with us.......(Read the great debt)matt18:23-35.Our Lord teaches us that we should extend the same Mercy to those who are indebted to Us........(And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:)......" my parents were led captive,from the Garden of Eden,Into this land of thorns,deceived by satan.He proved himself a liar,trying to trick me,into cherishing and loving this wicked earth,A dwelling-place of chastisement...Blessed is He Who comes to set prisoners free And to destory the one who took us captive!

 2006/2/28 21:19Profile









 Re:

Quote:
J-bird wrote:
"Prayer should be our very breath" as John Wesley would say.

Anyone else feel the same way? :-(




Yes, "Pray without ceasing."



Greenquality, that was also a great post.


God bless you/us all.

 2006/2/28 21:28
brentw
Member



Joined: 2005/12/14
Posts: 440
Ohio

 Re:

Let me open up a little... Years ago I used to make time a idol in prayer... I used to run out the clock just to say to self I prayed 2 hours...I actually wouldnt stop praying until my watch would strike the 2 hour mark. Boy, did I struggle!!! A saint told me I was making time an idol. Paul Ravenhill said prayer isnt measured by time but by the intensity! A big weight left me because I was in bondage.


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Brent

 2006/2/28 21:45Profile
deltadom
Member



Joined: 2005/1/6
Posts: 2359
Hemel Hempstead

 Re:

the stupid thing is i still struglle with this. I think we do need set boundaries and goals yet I do not believe us or me in bondage


_________________
Dominic Shiells

 2006/2/28 23:18Profile
Xzoblyjr
Member



Joined: 2006/2/28
Posts: 1


 Re:

Quote:

deltadom wrote:
Does anybody find that how much you have read the bible, you can pray alot easier and do you find that sin gets in the way of praying....
I feel such a failure at prayer.


I find reading the Word of God most important to establishing or re-establishing a prayer life.
Recently I dug a whole load of weeds out of the ground. The ground was hard as it is summer here in Australia, the ground is parched badly. It was littered with rocks underneath and the roots of some weeds went very deep and took some effort to pull out.
I hate to say it but that represents my heart as well. The word waters the ground, softens it but also digs in and turns it over. The spirit assisted me in uprooting some weeds. These weeds were burdens over the last 10 years that had taken me from 2-3 hours of prayer daily to nothing at all. Sin gets in the way of prayer!

Do not take heed to the feeling of failure. If you cannot find the words to pray, pray only that the Lord move you by His Spirit to pray what He wants you to pray. That is enough.
Remember He expects us to be as little children so I think it is important to keep prayer simple.
Pray scripture that impacts you.
2-3 hours of machine gun prayer is nothing compared to someone praying exactly what the Spirit wants them to pray. Less words more impact. You could call it laser guided prayer I guess.

 2006/3/1 5:29Profile









 Re: How many People struggle with Prayer , Prayer 101

It all depends how you look at prayer. Prayer used to be a struggle because of how I viewed prayer to be in the lives of others. It was their prayer life that determined if I was successful or not. Is it the form, the position, the manner that is important? Or is it just simply being yourself with your heavenly Father? I can be quite the actor if I followed what everyone else is doing, but inside I know that I am fooling everyone. So I don't bother trying to pray, I just pray, period.

It's that conclusion that we all must come to and that is, if you have a relationship with the Father, you are praying. I used to worry and fret because I wasn't praying like so and so. Thru out my day I'd pray and at times I feel my Spirit is praying.

Is there such a thing as not praying enough? Who sets the scale? Afterall our heavenly Father knows our needs before we pray.

If praying is a need in your life, than pray sincerely that you learn to pray thru out the day. I will tell you this, the results will not be what you will expect. Christianity expects that in order to pray you must do this or that, but God requires only that you acknowledge Him and love Him.

I used to pray like a chattering bird. The same thing over and over. Thank you jesus thank you jesus thank you jesus thank you jesus, oh your wonderful oh your wonderful, oh your wonderful, and the list went on and on and on. And I prayed like this because I thought I was praying right, because I heard others do this. And I wasn't mocking, I was truly seeking God. And then I read where Jesus said:

Quote:
Matthew 6:7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.


I was being a heathen praying over and over the same things, I was ignorant about it, but when I learned this truth(by the way the holy Spirit told me before I read this scripture) I was set free from FORMULA.

I remember when I was younger, before I came into contact with Christianities religious paraphernalia I used to just talk to my heavenly Father withersoever I went. I talked to Him as if He was my best friend walking beside Him. Than religion tripped me up, and now I left religion and now I am back to just talking to my Father again, and He talks to me.

Be real to Jesus and He'll be real to you, it's not the length, or the breadeth or even the height of your prayer. I've heard of people praying just 3 words and they got results, "Jesus save me". Isn't that wonderful? Our Father in heaven, KNOWS what your going to say. When you've come to relax that God is in control of your life and that you don't have to worry about if your performing like brother so and so, all the makeup comes off, all props are thrown out, the floor is swept clean. And you realize it has nothing to with your performance, but it has all to do with Christ in you performing His will into your life.

After all that, here is my instructions to you.

Whenever you feel the wooing of the holy Ghost to be alone with Him, DO IT. Most times He speaks when your with something that you like to be around like friends and or an idol. When He speaks to you to do anything, to keep the flow open, DO IT. Its better to obey than to sacrifice time in prayer for the sake of your conscience.

God bless

 2006/3/1 7:01
crsschk
Member



Joined: 2003/6/11
Posts: 9192
Santa Clara, CA

 Taste and See

That the Lord would grant me the ability to convey in words ...

Prayer is the workshop of the soul. Rising up early to meet with the Creator of the Universe. The privilege! The wonder of it all. Find it a bit strange the struggle to make expression at the moment, considering "this one thing I do" is to pray.

But why? By commandant or strictly obedience, lovingly at that? Duty? To 'get things' or to plead a cause, a compulsion of thought as to how I might like to see things done? Or is it something entirely foreign to the natural but an irresistible drawing, [i]deep calling to deep[/i]?

To be sure, it is the latter. Have expressed it this way before; It's not a 'have to' but a '[i]get to[/i]'. That the Lord might draw more of us in this way. It may be of some help I am beginning to think that a part of the 'struggle' to begin is only in having a wrong proscription, a wrong concentration, too many notions going in.

Sometimes I think I can be a bit too concerned about giving off a wrong impression. Let me throw caution to the wind and just open up my heart to you all here. The Lord is gracious indeed that He began quite early on after drawing me out of the pit of depravity that I put myself in to begin awakening me early in the morning. Quite a bit of this mentioned in other postings, the whole 'phenomenon' of "4:00" am. Need to redress that as time of reflection has altered my own perceptions of this, namely that it wasn't for everyone, would change that to it is available to anyone, but I digress.

Even typing these words finds this morning greatly warmed by the Lords [i]slight[/i] manifest Presence as I am want to put it. This is in part what I had alluded to earlier in the "Unpredictableness' of the Lord. Surely He changes not, not that, but the expectations, the wonder and awe of this mighty calling, to commune with the Highest, all powerful, all knowing, loving and merciful, holy, fearful, awful and awesome creator of the universe ...

And He beckons us to come, Jesus our High Priest, and not to forget [i]His[/i] intercession for us;

Joh 17:9 I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.

Note this!*

Can still recall the first impressions of rising early, practically unconcerned, even half aware of the particular hour, at the time had no idea there were many a past saint that found this 4:00 calling. In the quiet, and alone with God's word, not understanding anything in the sense of 'what or how' to pray, but just in sheer simplicity to ask "What is it that I am to do, Lord?" And it wasn't a matter of a particular passage of concentration and it couldn't have been a louder inner voice if it was audible, the return just as simple; "Follow Me"

"Where"? That rather normal, natural reasoning, that wants to consider everything first, wants to know where it's going and when and what it will cost me and whether or not it's 'pleasant' ...

My, I am finding this a peculiar paradox this morning. To be honest quite often I find the compulsion to write out of praying and often do so, it varies from getting a bit excited and over zealous even to the opposite, not really wanting to write and feeling compelled to do so. Again, no method, it's a bounding between the keyboard and the floor board.

There is something that goes far beyond our emotions, our circumstances, our perceptions and thoughts. Our difficulties and excitabilities, even our 'feeling's' if I might penetrate further into those mysterious realms. To dismiss them is folly, to be ruled by them a greater folly. But they are given. Pain still hurts. Peace is truly wonderful. God's peace that passes all understanding ... Needs no explanation and fails at an expression. If you have tasted it there is nothing by way of comparison. And for all this the deeper, truer, purer aspect that comes forth is but;

Worship.

Praise and worship. Worship and praise. It is not necessarily something that is worked up though I suppose that it can be and still be true and right. The difference perhaps is when it comes forth by way of gratitude of the Spirit, the [i]substance[/i] of the Holy Spirit and the saint that has His indwelling. It is that best word definition; "Oh"! "Oh my soul"! Or maybe the ultimate expression;

Joh 17:25 [i][b]O righteous Father[/b][/i], the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me.

Saints, to get to the point of nothing matters, nothing but the essence of the Lords telling us of "how" to pray;

Luk 11:2 And he said unto them, When ye pray, [b]say[/b], Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. [b][i]Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.[/i][/b]

Is this truly the echo of our hearts? It is mine. Be it revival, which I pray still comes, that the Lord show Himself strong and silence many a mere mans opinion, even some well intentioned men. To humble us all to realize His intentions and our individual orders even as collectively we are under one Head and one Captain; "[i]What is that to you? You follow me.[/i]" Be it the glorious end and yes, I frankly in one aspect could care [i]less[/i] how that comes to pass. Don't get me wrong, it is not to dismiss anything by way of eschatology, we ought to be on guard and watchful ..... [i]P r a y e r f u l[/i] as we have been instructed. It is often frankly a tiring thing, being a stranger on this wonderful creation gone wrong, the creation groans, I groan. The best of 'happiness' fleeting and stained, sorrowful. Confusion abounds as men drive themselves in circles rarely considering anything other than themselves, death is a 'morbid' concept and too painful to run past the thoughts, to be taken into consideration, always something for another day ... The god of this world has blinded...

But alas for all that, even our suffering, our "[u]Light[/u]", (Mark that!) "affliction". Recognize just what it is we are after, Who it is who has taken hold of us. Oh saints, Ravenhill was exacting; "[i]It is a noble thing to be a Christian my Brethren[/i]"! It is all worth it to a degree that we do not even realize. Every gut wrenching tear. Every difficulty and struggle. Every groan. Every praise. Every last bit of it.

Children. Let us go on to perfection. Pray always in all manner with all supplications. Pour yourself out. Allow the Lord to break you. It's painful yes. But it produces. You can suffer for His sake. You can find wisdom and strength in time of need. You can say with Job; "[i]Though He slay me, yet will I worship Him[/i]"! You can come to a place where you will not beg off the Lords dealing with you, despite the flesh crying for it to stop, "I cannot take anymore, Lord, stop it please" and find yourself crying instead; "Lord, [i]finish the work[/i]!". It can be done. You can go on and you can go through. The Lord well knows your frame and He well knows precisely what He is doing. You will find you can indeed endure the Lords seasons of silence as it is seemingly. You will find that you can indeed tolerate many things, being 'offended' will lose it's sting. You can be misunderstood and not feel smug about it. You can lose your life and find it. You can die to many things. You can take insults and not feel compelled to defend everything. If you know the Truth, the Truth will do it's own defending. You can learn to put up with things and be silent about it. You can indeed love your 'enemies' and not have to fake it. You can learn to wait on the Lord, be it days on end or longer. You can to learn to muse and to contemplate and to [i]slow down[/i]! Something that many that traverse here need to do, you are caught up in the worlds way of doing things and flip through thoughts and serious contemplations like looking for a good restaurant to eat at. Some of you need to go on a diet of some healthy food or to look at it like a dinner of liver, something that takes some [i]chewing[/i].

Had to get that in here, it just keeps coming to the surface and there is deeper wells to be found around these parts, go down into them, you will not regret it.

Oh my soul ... There is no nice summary here and still it is but the beginning of this vast, unending substance. Prayer is the Christians lifeblood, it's oxygen, it's very power and keeping the new man alive. May the Holy Spirit of God awaken us to our privilege and our incredible high calling.
To commune with the creator of the universe ...
It is staggering to muse on [i]that[/i]!

And missed in this pouring out and not last nor overlooked...

Thankfulness. Gratitude. It is a 'byproduct' in one sense and just as 'natural' as worship. It comes forth as well, not worked up but spilling forth .. Would like to think if we are going on with the Lord that to cut us open some things will bleed out of us;

Forgiveness.
Thankfulness.
Gratitude and appreciation.
[i]Gods[/i] love.
Worship and Praise.
Honesty.
Hope.
Faith.
Trust.

Love for the Brethren. Concern for the lost.
A sincere willingness to lose everything for Jesus' sake.

Joh 17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

Go on saints. Go to prayer. Unburden yourself in all honesty before the Lord. Do it early and do it often. Lose yourself in this high calling. Time will stand still or fly by before you notice it. More things have I learned by prayer than none other. If this is all but to prime the pump of our hearts...

[i]We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints, For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel; Which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth:[/i] Col 1:3-6

Psa 34:8 O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.

Still yet there is so much more. Prayer and the Word. The Word and prayer, inseparable entities.
Something that we dare not overlook, but for now sufficent to go back to the floor of the heart and pray for us all.


*([i]Another note of interest. "I pray" comes up no less than 256 times in a quick search ...[/i])


_________________
Mike Balog

 2006/3/1 10:17Profile





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