Tag: praise

What Are Three Things Prayer Provides?

How important is prayer to you? What types of prayers do you pray? Why does God want us to pray? These are a few questions we will look at. What are three things that prayer provides us with?

To me prayer is important because it is time spent with God. It is a time to ask and listen. So often we can pray and then walk away as if God doesn’t speak but He does. He wants to be heard just like we want to be heard. To me prayer is more than petitions and requests it is a time of fellowship with praise and thanksgiving, a time to meditate and listen, and petition and intercede for others and ourselves.

I know that we can sometimes make our prayer time a ritual, but it doesn’t have to be. Having communication and communion with God through fellowship and reading His Word is also about our prayer life. God’s Word is alive and active. It penetrates to the dividing of our soul and spirit. When we read His Word with a hungry heart for our own lives it is an exchange of His Word for our weaknesses. I like to ask the Holy Spirit to quicken His Word to me. We all need a fresh Word from the Lord. Even if it’s a correction it still produces life.

First, prayer provides us with answers and help from Almighty God through what Christ Jesus did for us in crucifixion, death and resurrection. The shed blood of Christ enables us to go before the throne of God with our requests and receive mercy and grace in our times of need.

Second, prayer provides connection with God in understanding His ways according to His Word. His ways are greater than our ways. Through prayer and reading the Word of God we discover what we really think and believe. The Word of God prayerfully read will uncover right where the heart of the matter lays.

Three prayer provides us with His fellowship. God created mankind to have a relationship with Him. He wants that relationship, and He supplied the way for that relationship. God longs to spend time with you. When you surrender your life to Jesus and receive forgiveness for your sins you become a child of God. He is our Heavenly Father, and He wants to hear from you.

There are many benefits to prayer these are just three things prayer provides. Be encouraged today to seek God in prayer.

How do you refocus when life is scrambled?

What is your focus on? Our focus may be on all kinds of things from home to careers and all that is in between. But what is going happen when your focus gets blurred due to unforeseen circumstances? That is when we need to refocus. What does refocus mean? It means “to focus again to change the emphasis or direction of.”

In the natural our view might be clouded caused by eye problems. Such as what I’m experiencing, I can see however not so clear in the left eye. I’m facing a cataract and partial corneal transplant surgery next month. So, I must focus to see.    

When things get a bit haywire what do you focus on? When life is scrambled with all kinds of ups and downs how do you keep your focus? I think it depends on what you’re focusing on. Our lives are made up of all kinds of important tasks and people who are involved in them. But to me the most essential focus that helps all the other areas in our lives is God and keeping my focus on Him.

There are many scriptures to help keep your focus clear. When your heart and mind are on the Lord it trains you to keep a clear focus. Keeping your heart and mind clear is most important. When our hearts are right with God and we stay humble and contrite we will keep a clear focus.

How do you focus when life is scrambled? By going back to God letting Him refocus your heart and mind. Laying the cares of the day at His feet and receiving His peace. Getting alone with the Lord is the first step to refocusing. Only God can tell you what is really in your heart. When we come before Him with thanksgiving and praise Him for who He is this will affect your focus.

When we come to the Lord with our cares and concerns without thanksgiving the focus becomes lopsided. But when I turn my eyes on Jesus and thank Him for who He is and for what He has done. Then my focus becomes clearer. A peace settles over me and I can petition my prayers through His focus.

God knows clearer what I need than I know or what others need. Each day has new challenges but everyday our focus can stay clear as we allow God to lead, guide and focus our day.