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