“Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart.”

Colossians 4:2 NLT

Submitted by: Rev. Millie McFarland

Praying should not be thought of as an activity. It shouldn't be something you cross off your to do list. You shouldn't be like, "I better hurry up and finish these dishes or cleaning this bathroom, so I can go pray and then go do groceries." That sounds like one of your chores, and who likes doing chores? No one!! Praying should be a natural desire to speak to the lover of your soul. When you wake up in the morning the first thing out of your mouth should be thank you Lord, for waking me up this morning. Good morning Father, I love you, etc..

Praying without ceasing is me, having the awareness that God is forever and always with me and knowing that Christ lives in me. It is an inclination, an attitude that God is.

Prayer is the believers’ secret weapon; prayer has the ability to lift us to a higher plain and ushers us into the very presence of our creator. He longs to spend time with his children. He inhabits the very essence of our worship. We all crave that kind of intimacy. It calls you to a new level, while at the same time pouring living water into the dry places of your life.

Another key to build your relationship with God is Praise and Worship. In this, you display that it is all about Him; because you are not asking for anything. In turn you are submitting yourself in adoration and surrendering your will to Him. Our praise and worship makes God arise from his resting place as its a sweet aroma unto him. We draw closer to God by singing His praises, singing His Psalms and singing love songs to Him. It invokes His very presence in that intimate time of worship. It is personal between you and Him; it is there that His spirit ministers to your soul. It is a wooing in the spirit and it builds your connection to God. 

If we don’t surrender those areas in our hearts that are still wounded, the enemy uses it as a target base to attack us and derail our walk with God. Once we surrender our bitterness, unforgiveness, and pain to him, he can heal it. We have to give it over willingly in order for him to be able to manifest his healing power.

If you would be willing to be patient, you will be rewarded. Most of us do not see our prayers answered because we look at our situation with our time limited expectations.

If you want to access the power of Jesus, you will have to do something that is counter-intuitive, it will require you to stop what we all instinctually do, which is to control the outcome of the situation we are in, it requires surrender.