In our end times prayer we must come back to what Jesus taught us about how to pray in Matthew 6:6. He said that we must pray with the right motive if our prayer is to be heard. That motive is to pray to be heard by God. Matthew 6:6 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. Three Primary “How To” Things There are three “how to’s” we need to look at in terms of what Jesus is telling us today. First, there must be a willingness to take time to pray: When you pray. There has to be the will to pray. The believer must intentionally make time to get alone and pray in these end times. Too few ever take time to pray, and even fewer spend more than a few minutes in prayer. In these end times we are busy traveling “to and fro”. Too many stay all wrapped up in the world and its day-to-day affairs, some of which are necessary, but how much more necessary is our end times prayer! Again, in these end times we must be specifically intentional. Second, a closet, or private place is a necessity. The believer must have a private place deliberately chosen for end times prayer. Third, there must be a personal relationship with God: a Father-son relationship is absolutely essential. God is our Father; He is available as fathers are available to their children. We are to go to Him, pray, share, commune and let Him shower us with His care and protection and meet our every need (Psalm 91:1). In End Times Prayer We Are To Pray To Be Heard By God Not Man Christ says that a man who is genuine prays to be heard by God and not by men. In these last days, knowing how to pray means we know how to direct end times prayer to God. Pray In Your Private Place The place he chooses for end times prayer is in his private closet. Christ says: Get alone; Enter your closet...shut your door. Be unobserved, undisturbed, and unheard. · Get alone: unobserved—out of everyones sight. · Get alone: undisturbed—avoid interruptions and disturbances. · Get alone: unheard—concentrate and meditate to allow God the freedom to work in your heart as He wishes. Our lives in the end times are cluttered with busy activity and it will get more so without intentionality. The reason the believer prays in his private closet is because God is in secret (seeMatthew 6:4). Note two significant facts on how to pray end times prayer as taught by Jesus. · God is in secret; therefore, a person can meet God only in secret. Even in the midst of a worshipping crowd, a person must concentrate and focus his attention upon God who is unseen. There must be a secret heart-to-heart meeting and communion if a person wishes to pray and truly share with God. · God is in secret; therefore, He is not interested in show, but in substance. Show is before men. Substance is found in the secret, quiet, meditative place. Remember: everything that exists began with an idea, and the development of the idea came from private and quiet thought and meditation, not out in the public before people—at least not often. The same is true of spiritual matters. Spiritual show takes place before people, but spiritual substances, or qualities that really matter, take place in secret. The believer pours out his heart and receives his greatest encouragement and strength in the secret place of the Most High, not in the public places of mere man. Few Pray In Secret, Most Pray On The Run – an End Times Phenomena Many pray on the run; few pray in secret. Many people have not learned, or have not been taught, how to pray, especially how to pray end times prayer. Living in these end times from our youth, we are in the habit of being on the run. Why do so few have a quiet time, a daily worship and devotional time? Why do so few keep their daily appointment with God? This is one of the most difficult things in the world to understand in light of who God is, and in light of mans desperate plight and need. No man would ever fail to keep his appointment with the national leader of his nation. Many say they do not have the time, so they do not take the time. But in all honesty, it takes only a little effort to get up a little earlier in the morning—if they are really all that pressed for time. All they need to do is to rearrange their schedule to allow for a quiet time just as they arrange for any other important meeting or recreation activity. Aren’t we really products of these end times in which we live? WE should not be at all surprised at the lack of time spent with God, He has told us this would happen in the last days; that is why we as true believers must discipline and devote ourselves to end times prayer. A Matter Of Discipline And Priority However, few take the time to get alone with God; therefore, they are without excuse. It is just a matter of discipline and priority – a willingness to learn how to pray. Most have the time; they just do not take the time. They neglect getting alone with God consistently. Many Have Not Been Taught Many have not been taught the importance and benefit of a quiet time with God every day; they have not been taught how to pray end times prayer. This is a justified accusation against Christian parents, preachers, and teachers in these end times. The silence of believers and their failure to reach the world with sound doctrine is unbelievable, especially after two thousand years. Especially in America, we drift further from old disciplines of time with God and end times prayer. Some just have not yet learned to discipline themselves and to be consistent in their spiritual lives. A Daily Quiet Time Teaches Discipline There is no better area to learn discipline and consistency than in a daily quiet time. A person should just begin and do it. When a day is missed, a person should flee discouragement, forgetting those things which are behind, and reach forth to a new day and begin again. Eventually, consistency and discipline will be learned, and the persons soul will be fed with the unsearchable riches of Christ in end times prayer and listening. The Rewards The reward of the genuine end times prayer warrior for learning how to pray is open blessings. The end times praying believer will be rewarded in two very special ways. 1. The strength and presence of God will be upon his life (Ezra 8:22;1 Peter 5:6). Gods presence is unmistakable. There is a difference between a person who walks in Gods presence and a life that walks only in this world (Matthew 6:25-34, esp.Matthew 6:33). God rewards the praying believer with His presence and blessings. The believers needs, material and spiritual, are met day by day. 2. The believers prayers will also be answered (Matthew 21:22;John 16:24;1 John 5:14-15). The answers to end times prayer are clearly seen by a thinking and honest observer. God has promised to answer the true end times prayer of a genuine believer. God takes care of the genuine believer with a very special care.
Posted on: Tue, 14 Oct 2014 23:19:17 +0000
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