A Call to Prayer

I attended a prayer conference over the weekend that really challenged me to go deeper in prayer. It was well attended and even though I like women's conferences and such I am happy that it was a prayer conference. It did not disappoint. The call for more prayer,more intense prayer, renewed praying and to start praying if you don't was sounded loud and clear. It was a 3day conference and even though I was only able to attend one day it was worth it all.

Prayer is necessary for the believer. There is no way around it. It is our communication and His communion.

There are so many places in the bible where we are encouraged, commanded or invited to pray. Jesus Himself showed us by example the many times He separated from the crowd and went to meet with the Father. He gave us a model of prayer to follow so that we would know how to go about it(Matt. 6:9-15).

Prayer was Paul's lifeline and we see it so many times in his letters to the church. There was no way he could know the mind and heart of Christ like he did without a lot of prayer. When we open our mouths in prayer God opens His heart to us.

Paul encourages us to pray at all times, in all circumstances, for this is God's will for us in Christ Jesus. One of our greatest desires is to know the will of God. Praying at all times is God's will for us.

Again in Phil. 4:6 we are told to bring our requests, our petitions, our cares and our concerns to God in prayer.

We are the branches and Jesus is the vine. We cannot survive without Him, prayer keeps us attached to Him, our source, our supply.

2 Chro. 30:27 says "The priests and the Levites stood to bless the people, and God heard them, for their prayer reached heaven, His holy dwelling place."

Is God hearing you, are your prayers reaching heaven? The only way God can hear is when we pray. He knows our hearts but He wants to hear our voices.

Many times we wish for God to do something about our situations, but we never actually go in prayer to Him. We hope in our hearts that He would meet our needs, that He would open new doors, but we don't take the time to stop and actually talk to Him.

How will our families come to Christ, unless we pray.
How will our marriages improve, unless we pray.
How will our gifts and talents be used for God, unless we pray.
How will our children grow in Him, unless we pray.
How will be more effective in our witness unless we pray.
How will we overcome the things we come up against and the strongholds in our lives, unless we pray.

Do the heavens know your voice? Or are you a stranger in prayer-land? Can you think of how long it has actually been since you talked to God?

An old favorite hymn of the church says,

"What a friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear,
What a privilege it is to carry,
EVERYTHING TO GOD IN PRAYER."

Pray without ceasing, pray continually: forget feelings and just pray. God waits.

I want to touch the heart of God. I want God's spotlight turned in my direction. I want the heavens to know my voice, I want my voice to reach the heart of heaven.

This is my heart's desire.

Hear my cry, O God, attend unto my prayer, from the ends of the earth, I cry unto to thee, when my heart is overwhelmed; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. Psalm 61

Blessings,
Vickie