Prayer is a grace God gives us

Prayer is a grace God gives us. We must never forget that. But it is a grace God is eager to give. It is also a grace we can make ourselves more likely to receive. 

Prayer is one of the chief ways we come to know and love God more. Through prayer we find meaning, strength, and direction for our lives. We become more and more the kind of person we really want to be: a person of love, integrity, compassion, forgiveness, and joy.

Here are 3 blog post I found inspiring this week. I hope you will too!

Five Keys to Intentional Prayer

One of the laws of Intentional Living—you and I are 100% responsible for what we think, feel, do and say. It’s a huge thing to be able to go to God in prayer and take responsibility for how you got where you are today. 

Here are five things we can learn from Nehemiah as keys to intentional prayer. Consider these things in your quiet time with God:

1.     Take action in prayer with a heart open to God. 

2.     Look to benefit others. 

3.     Take responsibility. 

4.     Focus on a promise. 

5.     Respond with joy.

On Prayers that Permeate His Heart

No matter where we pray, how we pray, the eloquence of our words notwithstanding . . . He hears. Our words don’t fall on emptiness but go right to the throne room, rising like incense.

He hears them all. 

     

      "This the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according

      to His will, He hears  us. And if we know that He hears us - whatever we ask - we know

      that we have what we asked of Him"

     1 John 5:14-15

Jamie The Very Worst Missionary

We pray because the God who knows us and sees us also connects us.

When we pray for one another, we are acknowledging that we are connected, not just to God, but to each other. Your pain matters, not just to God, but to me. Your joy is delightful, not just to God, but to me. The suffering of this broken world must be addressed, not just by God, but by me.

When Jesus shows us how to pray, He draws us into community, first with God, and then with each other:

Our Father who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come.

Thy will be done

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

and forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass against us,

and lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

Tips I found on Praying with Children

Start a Prayer Journal. Share your prayer requests with the other members of your family and then record them in a prayer journal. One person can pray for all the requests you've listed for the day. The next time you pray together, look over the requests you listed previously and update any changes and answers. This is a good way to see how God has been active in your prayer lives. 



A.C.T.S. Prayer. This is a well-known form of prayer that is easy to remember:

• A stands for “adoration.” Begin the prayer by simply adoring God for who He is.
• C stands for “confession.” Spend some time confessing your sins.
• T stands for “thanksgiving.” Take time to thank God for the blessings that He has given to you and your family.
• S stands for “supplication.” Lift up specific areas of your life in which you need God to supply for your needs.

Help children talk to God.  Urge children to talk to God just as they’d talk to anyone else. They can tell God about their day, express their fears, and even be a little mad if they want to.



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"This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us". - 1 John 5:14


"Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful"- Colossians 4:2  


"Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need"- Hebrews 4:16