Prayer (3)

 

   

'Pray continually.' 1 Thessalonians 5:17 NIV

The Bible says, 'Pray continually.' If you can worry continually, you can pray continually; you just have to change your focus! Try to picture this: an enemy army has arrived intent on wiping Israel out. So Moses says to Joshua, 'Take your best soldiers and go fight them. I'm taking two men, climbing the hill that overlooks the plains, raising my hands toward Heaven and praying for victory.' (Exodus 17:8-9 paraphrase) As Moses' hands stretched heavenward, Joshua's troops prevailed. But when Moses' arms grew weary and he dropped them to his side, the tide of battle shifted. Joshua's troops were being struck down. Again Moses stretched his arms toward Heaven, bringing the matter before the Lord. Immediately the battle's momentum shifted back to Joshua. Then it struck Moses-he must keep his arms outstretched toward Heaven if he wanted to open the door to God's supernatural intervention here on earth. There's a lesson here: if you are willing to invite God to involve Himself in your daily living, you'll experience His power in your home, your relationships, your career and wherever else it's needed. But the other side of the equation is sobering: it's hard for God to release His power in your life when you just put your hands in your pockets and say, 'I can handle this on my own.' Everytime someone comes to me and asks why isn't this or that happening; my first question is, have you really prayed. When you don't pray don't be surprised if you get the nagging feeling that the tide of battle has shifted against you and that you're powerless to do anything about it. To experience God's power in your life you must pray continually, pray Scripturally, and pray in faith. You are loved...