Take time to...
1. Praise God!
2. Wait on the Lord.
3. Confess Sin and remove any barriers between the Lord and ourselves.
4. Claim Scripture promises and apply God's word to our prayer life.
Just adding a few different aspects to our prayers can help our prayer life be more effective. We spend time with God because we love Him and want to have His world affect our world. Sometimes our prayers can sound like this...
"Dear Lord,
Thank you for this day. Please bless the missionaries around the world. Please help Uncle Bill. Thank you for your blessings. Please give me _________, and _______, and _________. Help me to be a good girl today."
Amen
Today we're going to add another part of prayer - watching.
Jesus specifically told his disciples to "watch and pray" because "the spirit is weak". This isn't talking about keep your eyes open during prayer. It is talking about being aware of distractions, focusing on who needs our prayers, going beyond just our four walls. It is about being aware, awake, and vigilant. How can we watch and pray?
1. Be aware of current events and situations that need Christian's prayers - people affected by natural disasters, tragedies, droughts, fires, etc.
2. Pray for social needs around the world - hungry people, lonely people, hurting people, people who've lost loved ones
3. Pray for the salvation of people on your street, in your neighborhood, your city, your county, your state, your country
4. Pray for the missionaries in troubled areas of the world - protection and provision, souls saved
Just doing this will get you out of the "me" prayers and make you a part of the vision that God has. John 3:16 says "For God so loved the world", do you love the world? Pray for the United States and the world and remember that God loves each individual. I always feel that my problems seem to diminish after this part of prayer.
II Chronicles 7:14
If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
