God at the Centre
“Talking with God in
Prayer”
Luke 11:1-13
How
might one grow spiritually? This is a question asked
by many who are unsure of
how to grow in their relationship with God, His Son- Jesus and the Spirit. To
be trained in godliness means to take on practises on a regular basis with God
at the centre. In the next few weeks we will focus on these practises.
Prayer is one of those things one
learns by doing. You only really learn by doing. When the disciples had seen
Jesus go off by himself to pray they knew that this was an important part of
his daily living and wanted to learn more. They asked him, “Teach us to pray.”
He then shared the words that we have come to know as the Lord’s Prayer
beginning with “Our Father…” But to truly understand prayer you must begin to
pray yourselves. As a Christian you are to pray.
Martin Luther committed much time
alone with God in prayer and so should you. Set aside a time which is best for
you—early morning, late night. When you pray don’t feel guilty if you miss a
day but do get back to praying again soon. Aim for consistency and not just as
something else to fill your day.
As you grow in confidence in
praying God will hear you and you will know His response according to his will by
what you experience. If the answer to your request is ‘no’, God will
communicate with you by the internal witness of the Spirit. The answer may not
be immediate. God might be asking you to be patient in trusting Him. And God
will discern whether the request you make is good for you. We just need to keep
praying.
There are many ways to see one’s
prayer life grow. One is to keep a prayer notebook of who and what you pray for
on a regular basis and then reflect back on the changes God has revealed to you
in these situations. Another way to pray regularly is to read the Bible daily
and pray on and with the words of the
Psalms or the passage you read. This then asks you for God to open the words
for a clearer understanding.
The main thing about prayer as a habit
for spiritual growth—is to do it regularly. Remember to pray and you will grow!
PRAYER: Holy God, I pray that you will enable me to grow.
Encourage me and call me to pray more consistently and regularly. Call me to
know myself and to grow closer to you as I learn more about being Christ’s
disciple. I ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Luis Palau, “God at the Center: Habits for Spiritual Growth”
ODB Ministries, p.5-8..
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