Understanding The Armor of God by Stella Ashworth | Page 22
Since we don ' t always know how to pray as we should, if we have the Spirit in us and are led by that Spirit, Paul says " the Spirit " will make intercession for us. This means that although we do not always know exactly what we should be praying for, God knows our hearts by living in us.
No matter how clumsily Christians present their requests and no matter how jumbled and confusing they are, God will always know what they are trying to say. Through His Spirit working in us, He has intimate knowledge of our hearts and minds. He understands us and will always work things out for the best in the long run.
In what has become known as the " Lord ' s prayer," Jesus Christ lays out for us a framework for praying to God. It is not a strict, inflexible format to which we must adhere every time we come before God but rather an excellent checklist of things we do need to take the time to pray about.
We should be praying on a regular basis for, among other things, God ' s will to be done, our needs to be taken care of, the forgiveness of our sins and deliverance from Satan.
Matthew 6:9-13
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“ This, then, is how you should pray:“‘ Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. 10 Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us today our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”
Whatever you may be facing in life, keep on praying!
Matthew 7:7-8“ Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”
We need to pray for others but also pray for ourselves. Our lives are filled with reminders that we can ' t make it on our own. It would be inconceivable to refrain from asking God for the help we so desperately require.
Our God stands ready to provide us with the strength, wisdom and courage we need to stand against our enemy, but He wants us first to come before Him and ask for it. Will we?
When Jesus prayed fervently before His crucifixion, He knew what He wanted to happen. But He always remembered that His Father was in charge and had the eternal best interests of everyone in mind. It is important for us to pray for God ' s will to be done too.
Set time aside to talk to God and don’ t take it lightly. Don’ t put it off or dela it. Make time to talk to your Creator.
We need to establish a steady, well founded relationship with God. We need to develop a proper mind-set to be praying always and win our spiritual war.
Remember, we’ re at war! Let’ s be alert to Satan’ s devices. Put on the whole armor of God!
The End. By Stella Ashworth The Bay Friendship Club Christian Friendship Group