Prayer is not a Formula
Philippians 4:6 is one of my favorite Scripture verses. God's word says:
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
That is an amazing verse. I have thought a lot about this and tried to practice it, and claimed the promise in the next verse, but I don't think I have ever come close to plumbing the depths of this. I am still learning so much about prayer, and I thank God for every prayer He has answered. But I think there is something basic and yet profound about this word. Here are some thoughts on this passage.
1. Don't worry about anything, but rather pray about everything.
2. Handle everything with prayer.
3. Your prayer has 3 parts: Prayer (addressing needs to God), Supplication (earnest pleading from a great sense of need and/or want), Thanksgiving (telling God thanks for what He has done, and even what we expect Him to do).
4. Prayer is not a formula, learned from religion....it is Your requests that You make known to God!
This 4th concept is something that has hit me in a strong way. I have read and studied books on prayer over the years, and listened to and preached many sermons on prayer. I recall teachings I have heard on "Prayer Protocol"......and surely there is much good to be learned from some of this. But it has dawned on me that the Philippians 4:6 kind of prayer is not a "protocol" to be learned, but it is My request, My supplication, My prayer, My thanksgiving, relating to My worry and My need. It is something of Mine, that I am to make known to God!
Prayer is not a formal appointment during which we fill out a standardized form to be submitted by governmental protocol. Jesus has already opened up the door into the Holy of Holies and we are invited to come in "boldly" to the throne of Grace to get help in the time of need! (Hebrews 4:16)
I was thinking about all the people that came to Jesus during His ministry on earth. As I thought about it, I realized that really none of them came by the same "protocol". The centurion sent messengers, lepers bowed down, blind men cried out aloud to get His attention, a woman surreptitiously touched the edge of his garment.....none of them following a pattern set by others, or instructed by Jesus or his disciples. They came to Him in their own way, some boldly screaming, some quietly touching, some bowing, some begging.......but the point is not "HOW" they came, but "WHO" they came to and the fact that they had faith in "HIM"......telling Him, begging Him, thanking Him. The lesson we are to learn, is not HOW they did it, but the fact that they boldly did it, in some fashion, in some way they got to HIM and MADE THEIR REQUESTS KNOWN!
In prayer, the HIM is much more important than the HOW. Get to HIM and ask, seek, knock, pray, thank, worship, make supplication, tell HIM what you want and need! Focus on HIM, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of Lords, King of Kings....Very God in the Flesh! He is our answer.
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
That is an amazing verse. I have thought a lot about this and tried to practice it, and claimed the promise in the next verse, but I don't think I have ever come close to plumbing the depths of this. I am still learning so much about prayer, and I thank God for every prayer He has answered. But I think there is something basic and yet profound about this word. Here are some thoughts on this passage.
1. Don't worry about anything, but rather pray about everything.
2. Handle everything with prayer.
3. Your prayer has 3 parts: Prayer (addressing needs to God), Supplication (earnest pleading from a great sense of need and/or want), Thanksgiving (telling God thanks for what He has done, and even what we expect Him to do).
4. Prayer is not a formula, learned from religion....it is Your requests that You make known to God!
This 4th concept is something that has hit me in a strong way. I have read and studied books on prayer over the years, and listened to and preached many sermons on prayer. I recall teachings I have heard on "Prayer Protocol"......and surely there is much good to be learned from some of this. But it has dawned on me that the Philippians 4:6 kind of prayer is not a "protocol" to be learned, but it is My request, My supplication, My prayer, My thanksgiving, relating to My worry and My need. It is something of Mine, that I am to make known to God!
Prayer is not a formal appointment during which we fill out a standardized form to be submitted by governmental protocol. Jesus has already opened up the door into the Holy of Holies and we are invited to come in "boldly" to the throne of Grace to get help in the time of need! (Hebrews 4:16)
I was thinking about all the people that came to Jesus during His ministry on earth. As I thought about it, I realized that really none of them came by the same "protocol". The centurion sent messengers, lepers bowed down, blind men cried out aloud to get His attention, a woman surreptitiously touched the edge of his garment.....none of them following a pattern set by others, or instructed by Jesus or his disciples. They came to Him in their own way, some boldly screaming, some quietly touching, some bowing, some begging.......but the point is not "HOW" they came, but "WHO" they came to and the fact that they had faith in "HIM"......telling Him, begging Him, thanking Him. The lesson we are to learn, is not HOW they did it, but the fact that they boldly did it, in some fashion, in some way they got to HIM and MADE THEIR REQUESTS KNOWN!
In prayer, the HIM is much more important than the HOW. Get to HIM and ask, seek, knock, pray, thank, worship, make supplication, tell HIM what you want and need! Focus on HIM, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of Lords, King of Kings....Very God in the Flesh! He is our answer.
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