I scheduled this blog on prayer a few weeks ago, but was prompted to return to it the day after the school schooting in Minneapolis. There were negative responses to “thoughts and prayers” offered for these families, because “these kids were literally praying.” Is the extension of this thought, “Prayer is worthless. Look what happened?” As I reread this blog, I realized that the first sentence is very important. Those who don’t believe, don’t understand. Please, continue to pray.
~ Kathie

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Praise, faith, and prayer are interrelated and inseparable. Praise ignites the faith-fire that God has already placed in us. Prayer flows out of faith and trust in God alone. So, these three—praise, faith, and prayer—are the building blocks of a relationship between God the Father and His children and heirs. The power comes from God and is released in answer to our prayers.

We don’t have to know how to pray a perfect prayer, and God doesn’t want us to wait until we think we are “good enough.” Our prayers can be unfocused, a generic cry for help, or muddied by our fleshly desires. We might begin our prayers with an attempt to manipulate God, and end up opening up our hearts to His will, which is greater, wiser, and more intelligent than our own (Psalm 62:5). We don’t have to be a theologian, a pastor, or a televangelist to pray powerful prayers—we have the Holy Spirit to guide us when we don’t know how or what to pray for.

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will. Romans 8:26-27, NIV

God the Father wants us to make praise and faith a bold daily habit—with confidence and trust—so that we can pray powerful prayers that He wants to answer because we have delighted in Him!

“True prayer is neither a mere mental exercise nor a vocal performance. It is far deeper than that—it is spiritual transaction with the Creator of Heaven and Earth.” ~ Charles Spurgeon

[Taken from Strike the Match, Light the Fire.]