Dear beloved: The first part of our walk in the Spirit that leads us into more intimacy with God is daily prayer, that time we set aside to commune with Him in the secret place of our physical and spiritual life. Jesus emphasized the secret place in prayer in Matthew 6:6, when He said, "go into your prayer closet, and when you have shut the door, pray to the Father who is in secret; and the Father who sees in secret will repay you (give you your reward)." So He is saying you have to separate yourself physically, get away from the noise and commotion, close the door behind you and then start talking, communicating, with your Father who is in heaven, who is in secret. The implication here with the word secret is that our Father is secluded and hidden from view, and He is only accessible to those who are initiated into the silence of His presence. One of the main reasons people have an empty spiritual life is they never get away from the noise of all the electronic gadgets and busyness of their life to get quiet with God. God speaks in the still, small voice, the voice that is hidden from us in our normal, fast paced lives. So when you seperate yourself physically, you also then are in position to seperate yourself in the secret place spiritually.
As you then begin to speak or commune with the Lord, Jesus goes on to say it is not the number or amount of words that is important, for "your heavenly Father knows what things you are in need of even before you ask Him." So, if He knows your needs even before you ask, then you might ask, "what is the point in even asking?" And that is the point of prayer; it brings us into His presence, into position before Him, where we can come to a place of agreement with Him, that His will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Jesus says in John 14:13 " and whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. v14 If you ask anything in My name, I will do it." So He is encouraging us to send requests back to the Father, that which the Father has already declared in His will for your life, your family, your nation, your ministry, to be on this earth; and that when you ask in the name of the Son, the Father who is in heaven will be glorified by seeing His will accomplished through you. For several years when I was really seeking the Lord for my life and ministry, I prayed for hours a week a very simple prayer, "Lord, show me Your way." The Lord certainly did show me His way, through dreams and visions, open doors and strengthening of my walk with Him, that intimacy that my heart longed for.
Jesus goes on to give us assurance that the Father will hear our prayer and answer our prayers. Matthew 7:7 " Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and your shall find; knock, and the door shall be opened unot you. v8, For everyone who asks receives; and he that seeks finds; and to him that knocks the door shall be opened." Beloved, know that God's will for your life is that He wants to bless and prosper you, to give you hope and a future. Get in your secret place and ask the Lord for His will to be done in your life; pray His will back to Him, and then get ready to walk it out through the open doors. In the next post I will talk about adding fasting with your prayers to make it even more powerful and Spirit filled. May God bless you as you pray today, in Christ, Jim www.gathertheoutcasts.com
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