Our Lord Jesus Christ gives us an example regarding how to pray. His disciples ask Him one day on their journey saying, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples” (Luke 11:1). Apparently, the disciples of the Lord had heard Him pray many times and desired to have the same personal relationship with God the Father.
Just as the body needs food, rest and exercise so the body also need spiritual food for the soul and spirit through daily prayer and reading God’s Word in the Bible. Paul once confess: “We do not know what we ought to pray for.” We must learn to put God first. The Lord gave his disciples a model prayer recorded in Matthew 6:9-13. Scripture verses notes that God delights in hearing and answering our prayers. We are asked to pray in His will and knowing His will means reading the Bible and waiting patiently for His answer. The Lord says, “if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain (problem), ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you” (Matthew 17:20-21). All problems are the same size to the LORD God.
The LORD God’s timing is infallible. Every being of our life is considered. If the Lord decides to delay an answer to our request, that delay will prove to be for our good (Hebrews 12:10). His action or delay may be that He has something much better in store for us, or because He wants to achieve something in our lives that can help us and others He sends our way.
Scripture Verses on Prayer in your Bible
“Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.” (Luke 11: 2,3, 4)
“And in that day, you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.” (John 16:23-24)
“Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matthew 26:41)
“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.” (John 15:7)
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) The worst problem in your life cannot separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. So, rejoice again, I say rejoice in the Lord knowing that we cannot work to earn His steadfast love. For the love of God is pure and righteous. Once we repent and believe and give God our heart, soul, and mind, He will give us our earthy needs and be with us for all eternity.
We can live abundantly in the love of God through Christ our Lord. When things are going bad, do not worry about what is on the road ahead. Learn to trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not in your own understanding. The Lord wants us to be at peace in every situation that comes before us. Remember, the Lord promises that He will never leave you or forsake you. He will help you and strengthen you with His love. Although we live in a fallen world where problems are inescapable, we can know that the Lord is with us.
Scripture Verses for Meditation
“For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:36-38 KJV)
“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy, I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10 NKJV)
“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world, you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33 NKJV)
Prayer:
Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for the joyful, abundant life that is mine through our Lord Jesus Christ. Guide me according to Your will, and help me become a servant whose life is a worthy example to others. Give me courage, Father, to claim the spiritual riches that You have promised, and show me Your plan for my life, today and forever. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Scripture verses are taken from the King James Version and the New King James Version of the Bible.
By Constance A. Burns Contributor for Moments of Meditation and Spiritual Readings; email: cburns@naavets.org