Pray Without Ceasing
Happy Tuesday! 🙂 I recently downloaded a new app I’m so excited about. It’s called First 5 by the Proverbs 31 Ministries. On another note, I highly recommend this app, because it encourages you to spend the first 5 minutes of your day with God. The app even has an alarm on it, so that you may wake up to the app and the reading for the day. A quote I recently read through this app: “We must first exchange whispers with God before shouts with the world.” To me, this speaks so much about the power of prayer. Take everything to the Lord in prayer! Here are a few of my thoughts on prayer time and what it means to me.
Being a mama, I have found it difficult to start my day off with “quiet time” since my mornings/days can be so unpredictable. But I have held on to my prayer time with God. We are to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). I believe it is so important (as the quote states) to exchange whispers with God before shouts with the world…before making any decisions…take everything to the Lord in prayer. I cannot describe the ultimate peace I feel when I talk to God, spend time with Him, and tell Him that I will ultimately trust in Him. He hears our cries, He hears our prayers. I know this may sound odd, but over the past few months in growing in my faith, I feel like I have had to learn how to pray. I have come to a place where I can feel God’s presence and know He is listening to me. One thing I love to do is relate verses I have been meditating on, back to God in my prayers. For instance, when I am feeling frightened, I pray Psalm 17:8-9. When I feel overwhelmed, I often pray Psalm 61:1-4. If this isn’t something you’ve tried in your prayer time, I encourage you to try it! It truly puts my mind at rest.
It is so important to remember that while we are committing all of our ways, worries, anxieties, etc. to God, we must also remember to thank Him. I love Philippians 4:6-7 because I feel like it covers everything…”in every situation…by prayer…with thanksgiving…present your requests to God.” And His peace which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” And It is such a comfort knowing that God’s mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23). Something I’ve read in the book I often quote, Just Enough Light, is a reminder that God hears our prayers to Him each time we pray them. Sometimes I know I feel like I have been praying the same prayer over and over. But as Stormie Omartian says, “There is no such thing as a same old prayer. Each prayer has new life to it and sets something in motion each time we pray it.” God hears your prayers, so never stop praying and take comfort in knowing that we have such an awesome, loving God to exchange whispers with before facing the world.
Also, something I have started and greatly enjoy is a prayer journal. There is something about jotting down prayers. It truly makes me feel like I’m one on one with God. I like to jot down the specific things and people I’m praying for and then write out my prayers. It’s also so amazing to be able to go back through the prayers you’ve written down and read over the ones that you can tell God is working on in your life. Writing out our prayers to God helps us to focus on Him and really just set some time apart to be in His presence.
“I love the Lord, for He heard my voice; He heard my cry for mercy. Because He turned His ear to me, I will call on Him as long as I live.”
Being a mama, I have found it difficult to start my day off with “quiet time” since my mornings/days can be so unpredictable. But I have held on to my prayer time with God. We are to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). I believe it is so important (as the quote states) to exchange whispers with God before shouts with the world…before making any decisions…take everything to the Lord in prayer. I cannot describe the ultimate peace I feel when I talk to God, spend time with Him, and tell Him that I will ultimately trust in Him. He hears our cries, He hears our prayers. I know this may sound odd, but over the past few months in growing in my faith, I feel like I have had to learn how to pray. I have come to a place where I can feel God’s presence and know He is listening to me. One thing I love to do is relate verses I have been meditating on, back to God in my prayers. For instance, when I am feeling frightened, I pray Psalm 17:8-9. When I feel overwhelmed, I often pray Psalm 61:1-4. If this isn’t something you’ve tried in your prayer time, I encourage you to try it! It truly puts my mind at rest.
It is so important to remember that while we are committing all of our ways, worries, anxieties, etc. to God, we must also remember to thank Him. I love Philippians 4:6-7 because I feel like it covers everything…”in every situation…by prayer…with thanksgiving…present your requests to God.” And His peace which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” And It is such a comfort knowing that God’s mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23). Something I’ve read in the book I often quote, Just Enough Light, is a reminder that God hears our prayers to Him each time we pray them. Sometimes I know I feel like I have been praying the same prayer over and over. But as Stormie Omartian says, “There is no such thing as a same old prayer. Each prayer has new life to it and sets something in motion each time we pray it.” God hears your prayers, so never stop praying and take comfort in knowing that we have such an awesome, loving God to exchange whispers with before facing the world.
Also, something I have started and greatly enjoy is a prayer journal. There is something about jotting down prayers. It truly makes me feel like I’m one on one with God. I like to jot down the specific things and people I’m praying for and then write out my prayers. It’s also so amazing to be able to go back through the prayers you’ve written down and read over the ones that you can tell God is working on in your life. Writing out our prayers to God helps us to focus on Him and really just set some time apart to be in His presence.
“I love the Lord, for He heard my voice; He heard my cry for mercy. Because He turned His ear to me, I will call on Him as long as I live.”
~ Psalm 116:1-2 ~
What are some ways that you set your prayer time apart as a special time for you to be with God? Do share! 🙂
Delightfully Yours,
I loved this post! Some days I blink my eyes and I can barely remember if the sun came up! Its so nice to have those extra minutes to remember why we are all here! Keep up the good work girl!
Always with love,
Sadie Lee
http://www.HeySadieLee.com