Prayer is one of the hardest and most necessary things in the Christian life. Setting up a daily and hourly prayer schedule is difficult and takes a lot of work. It is my belief that it is so hard because we have an enemy whose object in life is to see us fall and fail in all that we do for God. Prayer is what makes the Christian tick. If the Devil succeeds in causing us to fail at it, then he has succeeded in making us live a stunted life. We can't grow if we don't pray and receive from God.
I've found that something that helps me immensely when I pray is to pray aloud. I know, it sounds weird to say that you should talk aloud when there is "no one" in the room. I, however, find that this makes it much easier to concentrate. When I try and pray in my mind I find myself wandering off in my thoughts and I have to constantly be pulling my mind back into focus.
I try to, every time before I begin to pray, ask God to take control. I pray against anything that the Devil is trying to throw against me and I pray protection over my family. This tends to help me gain victory.
Also, we need to realize that just because our minds wander doesn't mean that we are a bad people. Everyone is tempted. BEING tempted is not what we need to fight against, FALLING to the temptation is. We have to make sure that we see any obstacle between us and God as from the enemy, not from us.
Corinthians 5:17
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
This verse says that you are a new creature in Christ. That means that in Christ you are no longer considered a sinner. Sure, you still fail at times, but now you are essentially good. That means that ANY temptation that comes your way is from your FLESH (your old sin nature, to which you are now dead) or THE DEVIL, not you. You are a new creature in Christ!!
Romans 5:18-20Christ has given you the victory!! He died so that you might have life and have it in abundance!!
So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. For as through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.
[my emphasis added]
John 10:10Live that life. Claim it in the name of Jesus. The One who is on our side is greater than the one who is in the world (1 John 4:4). Proclaim it in the name of Jesus and the enemy will flee!!!!!
"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly."
Prayer can only be established by practice. The more you practice prayer, the easier and more natural it will become. The apostle Paul tells us in his letters to the Ephesians that we should pray without ceasing. That means that we should not only set aside a time for private prayer but that we should pray throughout the day.
While you're doing the dishes if you think of someone who needs prayer, pray!! There is nothing stopping you. God invites us to pray to Him at all times. That's what Paul meant when he said pray without ceasing. Not that you should always lock yourself away in your room, but that you should constantly be in communication with God. It's funny, but the word communication has the same root as the word communion. Just a thought!
Thanks guys for listening to my ramblings!
Hello Sarah!
ReplyDeleteWow, your work with girls sounds so wonderful! Generally, what is the group age range? It sounds like average teenage girls the world over all have the "boys and clothes" obsession in common. It really is sad, because life is so much deeper than that. I'm burdened for these! We have the same thing here in the States, as wealthy and comfortable as we are. That is why I started my blog/group, Daughters of Light(www.daughtersoflight.wordpress.com). It came out of a burden for these lost, confused girls that need direction.
I can understand the "test of patience" part:-). I know it must not be easy. I work with about 70 children here in our Russian community, and they are not born angels:-). We do Bible classes with them weekly(sort of like a sunday school). They are a handful, and I love them all to pieces. They all come from extremely religious homes, but religion isn't enough. They need to know God for themselves. These Russians literally go to church every single day. But the souls of these children are very neglected, and often they get into their teenage years and go out into deep sin - many now use the term "Russian" as an insult. But I love the culture, and I've given my life and work to it. My dream is someday going foreign...but whatever God has.
I was reading through this post you wrote about prayer! It was excellent. I noticed the part about "This verse says that you are a new creature in Christ. That means that in Christ you are no longer considered a sinner." Just curious, do you believe in living free from sin? As in, God takes your sins away and gives you the power never to sin again, unless you willfully choose to do it? Felecia and I both do, and when studying it all out in the right context, it really makes alot of sense. But I was just curious as to what you believe.
Anyways, see you soon!:-)
Nastya
Oh...one last thing...you asked if I play an instrument. Yes, I definately do! I have played the harp for going on 9 years. I love the thing! I am supposed to record my first album shortly...I can't wait! If it turns out well, perhaps I can send you a copy:-). I've chosen that as my major instrument in college, as I am majoring in music. I also have taught myself piano and voice (once you can read music, you can pick up different instruments fairly quickly). I love to sing, but sadly, I was not gifted with one of those phenomenal voices whose tone wows the world. I guess God knows when to stop the talent:-) I'm working on it though, and maybe someday I'll feel confident to try a few solos:-)I do fine as long as I'm in a group, though. What instruments do you play? Do you speak any languages other than English and Spanish?
ReplyDeleteNastya
Amen! Good post! It's so funny you write this because just today my mom posted on the exact same thing - communion with God (on her Heavenly Places blog)! Wow! It's so true - we need to have communion with Him - it's so important, vital to the Christian experience. I don't know what we would do without it! And I'm curious too about Nastya's question about whether you believe that a true Christian lives sin-free? Just wondering. It sounds kind of like you do.
ReplyDeleteAs a side note - Nastya does have a great voice - she has a lot of musical talent - a passion for music! :D
Well, have a great week and happy holidays to you and yours!!!!!!!! :D
((HUGS))
Hey guys!! Thanks for your comments! I wanted to say that Yes, I believe that as a Christian and a new creature in Christ it is possible IN CHRIST to not sin. I don't believe that anyone has ever done it before, but we are promised in the Bible (phil. 1 or 2 somewhere in there) that God will continue to perfect the work that He has begun in us until the day we leave this earth. So, in light of this, since I know that God does not lie and never will, I believe that as impossible as it seems, we CAN live a sin-free life.
ReplyDeleteDoes that answer your question?? I hope so. Just ask me again if it didn't and I'll expound a little more!
Blessings!
Oh Lordy, this is what the 3-4th post I"ve read this week on Prayer?! I think the Lord is trying to tell me something, especially since i'm so angry and hurt right now with things. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
ReplyDeleteHUGS
Hey Sarah...
ReplyDeleteLooks like you're gonna have to start posting alot more often in order to keep up with all my comments...:-D (cheese) lol.
So you sing too? Have you ever taken lessons? Does your family sing? That is so awesome...singing is the best! If you have any sort of video recording device and it is possible for you to post something, I'd love to hear!!!:-) Yeah, harp is a pretty awesome instrument...I do have to say so myself;-). One advantage is that it is so uncommon, and thus you are often in demand for orchestral performances. I've been asked to play a number of times with local school bands and orchestras. But it's sad, I can't always commit because I have a busy church schedule, and I am determined to keep God first. But I get my opportunities. My dream, though, is to claim the stage of a huge performance hall near here someday...I sure hope that it comes to pass!
Ah...French? That is the next language on my list, after I perfect Russian. French....culture, Europe, intelligence, sophistication, and a touch of snobbish! Lol...I love it! All my faves rolled in one(uh, minus the snobbish:-) I've been working on my British accent too...it sounds so cultured, so educated. My family makes fun of me though, and my younger siblings actually have been trying to imitate it.:-) Keep up the good work! Hopefully soon I can start commenting in French:-)BTW, what curriculum are you using?
Wow, that is so awesome about the girls...my prayers are with you! Who knows the amount of impact you are having, not only now but upon the future generation? God knows, and there is no limiting what He can do when we simply hand our lives to Him and say, "Not my will, but Thine!" Takes courage!
Ok, so you believe that it is possible to live sin-free. Yeah, to me it seems hard NOT to believe it, when you consider that Christ commanded the adulterous woman to "Go and sin no more." It would be dreadfully inconsistent for Him to tell someone to do something that they had no power to do, yes? And also when you consider that He was sinless, and that "as He is, so are we in this world" and we are to "follow in His footsteps". Then roll it all together and consider why He came to die for us. Most people say "to save us from our past, present and future sins" or to "save us from the penalty of sin". But when you realize that BEFORE He came the Israelites had no power to keep from sinning and were commanded to sacrifice for sins as recompense, God doesn't seem to have changed much by sending His son to die if we still can't help but do wrong.
I know alot of religions get hung up on the sin issue - what sin really is. I think the Apostle James defines it well when he says "He that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin." In other places it talks about a "willful transgression".
So if you take sin as being something you willfully do(as opposed to a mistake), then that makes living "sin free" look much more possible, don't you think? We are human, and God doesn't require us to do something impossible. So in a spill, this is how I see it - sin is what separated us from God in the beginning. After the sin in the garden, man was no longer one with God. Man was required to sacrifice for sin. Then God sent His son as the perfect sacrifice, and he took the sins of the world upon Him, allowing man to once more have a relationship with God, and giving the power to live without sin. Anyways, that's what I believe about sin. While others seem to stress diet, culture, modesty, or other things as the main issue, I think it really boils down to what you believe about sin. Anyways, is this how you feel too? Is this what you believe?
Anyways, keep fighting the good fight. Stay strong, fellow soldier:-).
Love and Prayers,
Nastya