I am quite possibly the most impatient person I know. I like to see results immediately and unfortunately (for me), that rarely happens. And interestingly enough, I’m not going to write about patience today. I was going to, but as I began reading some Scriptures on patience, I decided (or God lead me) to instead talk about prayer. So let’s do that, then, shall we?
How many of you are prayer warriors? You know the type, they pray for anything and everything: people, circumstances, jobs, church, leaders, etc. That is not a bad thing, so please don’t take it as if it were. I would consider myself a prayer warrior. I like to talk to God as if He’s sitting right next to me. I don’t know, it just feels more intimate. I have been asked the question before, “why do you pray?” Initially, I am caught off guard because it’s just part of who I am. My day doesn’t feel complete unless I have a meaningful conversation with God. So what do I tell people who ask about prayer?
Prayer is how we communicate with God. It is as if you’re picking up the phone and calling the “God Hotline.” When you receive Christ as your Savior, you have to pray asking that He forgive you of your sins and that He comes into your life – you’ve got to pick up the hotline. Prayer is like talking to your best friend. God loves us unconditionally. A bigger question I get, however, isn’t why I pray but if God actually hears our prayers. That can be a tough one to answer but I’ll give it a shot.
The Bible tells us in five specific places that God does not hear the prayers of those who don’t first confess their sins and ask for forgiveness. The most prominent (or recognized) verse is John 9:31, “We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly man who does his will.” A lot of people get wrapped around that verse but let’s dissect the situation a little bit. God hears the prayers from people who have confessed their sins and ask for forgiveness. So then, why are those people’s prayers heard and not those who just pray for, let’s say, a big test coming up or something? Think about it, how can we ask God to answer a prayer if we don’t believe in Him? By not confessing your sins builds a wall between you and God. You don’t ask for His forgiveness just once when you receive salvation; you must ask for His saving grace daily because we sin daily. Trust me, even if you think you haven’t sinned, you have – actually, by thinking you haven’t sinned is sin. There’s only one person in the existence of the world that is without sin: Jesus Christ.
So what do you do now? Pray. If you haven’t prayed before then it might be time that you pray the prayer that will save your life – the one where you ask God to come into your life and forgive you of your sins. I assure you that God will hear that prayer! If you need help on how to come to that conclusion, I encourage you to contact me at jeremymeier.org and I will help you. If you have already received the gift of salvation, are you asking God for forgiveness daily to break down the wall between you and Him? If not, I pray that you start.
Prayer is an important part of the life of a Christian. I love a verse in the NIV Bible about prayer. It’s an awesome, to the point verse and one that I recite often: 1 Thessalonians 5:17, “pray continually.” How cool is that? It’s only two words and tells you exactly what you’re supposed to do!
Maybe the next installment will be on whether or not God answers prayers. I’m sure that will spark some interest. He’s got a reason for everything and I’m looking forward to sharing that with you!
Until then…blessings!
Jeremy
How many of you are prayer warriors? You know the type, they pray for anything and everything: people, circumstances, jobs, church, leaders, etc. That is not a bad thing, so please don’t take it as if it were. I would consider myself a prayer warrior. I like to talk to God as if He’s sitting right next to me. I don’t know, it just feels more intimate. I have been asked the question before, “why do you pray?” Initially, I am caught off guard because it’s just part of who I am. My day doesn’t feel complete unless I have a meaningful conversation with God. So what do I tell people who ask about prayer?
Prayer is how we communicate with God. It is as if you’re picking up the phone and calling the “God Hotline.” When you receive Christ as your Savior, you have to pray asking that He forgive you of your sins and that He comes into your life – you’ve got to pick up the hotline. Prayer is like talking to your best friend. God loves us unconditionally. A bigger question I get, however, isn’t why I pray but if God actually hears our prayers. That can be a tough one to answer but I’ll give it a shot.
The Bible tells us in five specific places that God does not hear the prayers of those who don’t first confess their sins and ask for forgiveness. The most prominent (or recognized) verse is John 9:31, “We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly man who does his will.” A lot of people get wrapped around that verse but let’s dissect the situation a little bit. God hears the prayers from people who have confessed their sins and ask for forgiveness. So then, why are those people’s prayers heard and not those who just pray for, let’s say, a big test coming up or something? Think about it, how can we ask God to answer a prayer if we don’t believe in Him? By not confessing your sins builds a wall between you and God. You don’t ask for His forgiveness just once when you receive salvation; you must ask for His saving grace daily because we sin daily. Trust me, even if you think you haven’t sinned, you have – actually, by thinking you haven’t sinned is sin. There’s only one person in the existence of the world that is without sin: Jesus Christ.
So what do you do now? Pray. If you haven’t prayed before then it might be time that you pray the prayer that will save your life – the one where you ask God to come into your life and forgive you of your sins. I assure you that God will hear that prayer! If you need help on how to come to that conclusion, I encourage you to contact me at jeremymeier.org and I will help you. If you have already received the gift of salvation, are you asking God for forgiveness daily to break down the wall between you and Him? If not, I pray that you start.
Prayer is an important part of the life of a Christian. I love a verse in the NIV Bible about prayer. It’s an awesome, to the point verse and one that I recite often: 1 Thessalonians 5:17, “pray continually.” How cool is that? It’s only two words and tells you exactly what you’re supposed to do!
Maybe the next installment will be on whether or not God answers prayers. I’m sure that will spark some interest. He’s got a reason for everything and I’m looking forward to sharing that with you!
Until then…blessings!
Jeremy