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Closing the Gap 6.8.18

Week 22 “Why Pray?” Day 5

Pray:

Ask God to reorient you to Himself. Confess any known sin. Thank Him for His forgiveness. Be still and reflect on Jesus and His sacrifice for you. Ask the Holy Spirit to open your heart and mind to God’s Word. Pray for others in your life that they, too, would know and love God today.

Read:

Mark 1:35 Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.

Deut. 29:29 The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.

Reflect:

Why pray?  Because you can.  If God did not exist, you could speak words to the ceiling or to the sky, but it would still not be prayer.  It would be self-talk. If God existed but did not care, you could speak words to him but he would not listen.  If he did not listen, it would not be prayer. It would be “wish-talk.” You should pray because you can pray. You can pray because God exists and he cares for you.  The fact is, most people do pray. Even about 1 in 5 atheists or agnostics prays daily. Which makes you wonder if they actually are what they think they are – atheist or agnostic.  But although most pray, it is unlikely that most see prayer as the privilege that it is. Many people dream of being able to speak to some wise, famous or powerful person. They would love to be able to get that person’s help, or their perspective, or just to have relationship with them.  Prayer is a conversational relationship with the all-wise, eternally famous, all-powerful God. We may know this as “brute fact,” but we may not see this as the beautiful truth it is. If we would take the time to remember, reflect, and rehearse out loud these truths, it would likely make our praying seem more like the privilege that it is.  It’s good to pray “as you go” about all kinds of things and, of course, you can’t always recite the greatness of God before every prayer. However, sometimes when you pray, it would be good and helpful if rather than beginning by “asking in prayer,” you would “tell in prayer.” Tell God (and yourself) of the greatness and goodness of God. Speak to him (and yourself) of his power and love and “smartness.”  His ways are best for you because he is both really smart and really good…try to remember this as you pray. Position yourself to pray by turning your thoughts to who it is you are praying to. Learn to see prayer as the privilege it is. You don’t have to pray, you get to pray.

Pray:

(Personalize this prayer today; make it specific to the circumstances that face you.)

Ask God to lead you through His Spirit as you go through your day. Ask Him to bring to mind the truth of the gospel and its implications for what you will encounter today. Tell Him “Yes” to His will and ask Him for His power and protection to live this “yes.” Ask God to create and reveal opportunities to proclaim the good news today.

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