what me pray?

What ME pray?

Many religions pray. People in most religions would give you good reasons to pray. Some might say “Prayer centers you.” Or “It quiets your spirit.” Or “It helps you work our your problems. “ But for Christians prayer is an essential part of who we are. “Why should I pray?”, you ask.
1. The first reason Christians should pray is that we have a God who hears us. You must realize who it is that we are praying to:
Psalm 65:2 “O You who hear prayer, to You all men come.” We serve a living, loving God, who is the creator of the universe and yet LISTENS when we pray. Not only does He listen when we pray but He pays attention to what we have to say.
Psalm 66:19 “But certainly God has heard; He has given heed to the voice of my prayer.” Prayer for the believer is a conversation with an awesome God. Conversation can’t happen when only one person does the talking, so it is important when writing about prayer that I make it clear that I am not speaking about just chanting or repeating words. Prayer is speaking but it is also listening. Psalm 5:3 “In the morning, O Lord, You will hear my voice; in the morning I will order my prayer to you and eagerly watch.” Not only is He a living God who listens, it makes Him happy when we pray (Psalm 72:15) and He answers with “saving truth”. (Psalm 69:13)
2. Another reason that we, as believers, should pray is in response to His love. If you have Jesus in your life and have accepted His forgivenness, if you realize the depravation and need that you had prior to coming to Christ and now He has lifted you up and made you His child, you will WANT to talk to Him in response. Psalm 42:8 “The Lord will command His lovingkindness in the daytime; and His song will be with me in the night, A prayer to the God of my life.”
3. A third reason that Christians should pray is that we are commanded to do it. If the fact that our Lord is Living, loving, truthful and listens to us when we pray isn’t enough and the fact that you are forgiven and adopted into God’s family isn’t enough to cause you to pray in response, then Christians should pray because it’s commanded that we do so. Psalm 32:6 “ Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You in a time when You may be found:”
4. Another reason we should pray is that it works. James 5:15-16 states “and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.
Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.”

Ok, so hopefully, I’ve made my point and you are now beginning to think about prayer. So you ask, “what do I pray about?”
Psalms gives us a few ideas:
1. When we need help Psalm 5:2, Psalm 88:13
2. When we have a just cause Psalm 17:1
3. For safety Psalm 32:6
4. When we or others are sick Psalm 35:13
5. When you feel alone Psalm 39:12
6. When we need correction and feel God is angry with you Psalm 80:4, Psalm 141:5
7. Pray against wickedness Psalm 141:5
8. When you (or others) are wrongly accused Psalm 109:7
9. If other people ask for you to come beside them and pray for their needs (Psalms, James) People call or email the Sun Grove prayer chain and ask for others to come along side them asking the God of Heaven to help in their time of need. Are you interested in joining us? You can be someone just trying out this prayer thing or someone who has been praying for a long time. The only criteria needed to be a part of this ministry is a commitment to spend a few minutes each day in prayer.