{"id":2291,"date":"2020-04-21T13:56:23","date_gmt":"2020-04-21T13:56:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/?p=2291"},"modified":"2024-02-28T14:21:14","modified_gmt":"2024-02-28T14:21:14","slug":"how-do-you-pray","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/how-do-you-pray\/","title":{"rendered":"How Do You Pray?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-container uagb-block-ca5ff7a6 alignfull uagb-is-root-container\"><div class=\"uagb-container-inner-blocks-wrap\"><div style=\"font-size:24px;\" class=\"has-text-align-center has-link-color adobe-reg-italic wp-elements-85a8a21107b8ee66b96e773a6aa630b7 wp-block-post-date has-text-color has-web-light-green-color\"><time datetime=\"2020-04-21T13:56:23+00:00\">April 21, 2020<\/time><\/div>\n\n<h2 style=\"color:#ffffff; font-size:45px;font-style:normal;font-weight:600;text-transform:uppercase;letter-spacing:4px;\" class=\"has-text-align-center has-link-color proxima-font wp-elements-8489a226fd32958d683121eb2fa02d00 wp-block-post-title has-text-color\">How Do You Pray?<\/h2><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-container uagb-block-1bfb0755 alignfull uagb-is-root-container\"><div class=\"uagb-container-inner-blocks-wrap\">\n<p class=\"adobe-reg has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-6577bbaa4404a8ce8087eca64319da3e\" style=\"color:#1a1a1ab3;font-size:18px;letter-spacing:0px\">Have you ever admitted to God, \u201cI\u2019m done. There\u2019s nothing left of me\u201d?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"adobe-reg has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-7cd2e39f9d6a78cec82baf124d1c596e\" style=\"color:#1a1a1ab3;font-size:18px;letter-spacing:0px\">What can we do? The Word of God directs us to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Yet we often forget to pray consistently, passionately. In fact, we may pray only when we feel desperate or hopeless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"adobe-reg has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-51c8c6137e395ac612f4251cbd93c0f7\" style=\"color:#1a1a1ab3;font-size:18px;letter-spacing:0px\">How can we move toward more meaningful, intimate conversations with God?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"adobe-reg has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-51c424ff3d82022ec6d4c1d5eaaf4c7a\" style=\"color:#1a1a1ab3;font-size:18px;letter-spacing:0px\">First, avoid \u201cmeaningless repetition\u201d and \u201cempty phrases\u201d (Matthew 6:7). Anyone can fall into this trap. Instead of repeating words and phrases that sound spiritual, use honest, sincere words that reflect your actual feelings. God cares about your heart, your truest self, and wants to connect with you on that intimate level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"adobe-reg has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-b2eda9a145048aac67346966adf33f35\" style=\"color:#1a1a1ab3;font-size:18px;letter-spacing:0px\">Second, avoid demanding prayers, which leave no room for God to speak, move, or direct. Perhaps God is asking you to sit still with Him awhile, baring your heart as you seek His heart. Ask God, \u201cWhat do you wish to share with me in our time together?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"adobe-reg has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-0be19ca997ea61d5e7d7df8342cdcd64\" style=\"color:#1a1a1ab3;font-size:18px;letter-spacing:0px\">Third, ask God to remove any fear in your heart. The Enemy uses fear to trap us in a cycle of doubt and disbelief. Once, as I prayed beside the foot of my bed, God seemed to say, \u201cYou&#8217;re praying as if I am a dead God!\u201d Wow, that was a wake-up call to how I worded my prayers. If we pray in disbelief, we dishonor God by not using the faith He has already given us, small as it may be. Instead, claim the promises He has given in His Word. Fight \u201cwith the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God\u201d (Ephesians 6:17).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"adobe-reg has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-0b69e27f3a5f396bcedf721e42a5d281\" style=\"color:#1a1a1ab3;font-size:18px;letter-spacing:0px\">Fourth, seek intimacy with God. Listen for His voice. As you walk deeper in intimacy, remember John 7:38: \u201cWhoever believes in me, rivers of living water will flow from within them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"adobe-reg has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-700f7b950448a0932640bb3107106636\" style=\"color:#1a1a1ab3;font-size:18px;letter-spacing:0px\">Fifth, wear the armor of God listed in Ephesians 6 when you pray. The belt of truth holds all the other pieces of the armor in place (v. 14). When Satan whispers, \u201cYour case is hopeless,\u201d are you going to believe him or will you stand firm, knowing that Scripture teaches \u201call things are possible\u201d through our Lord Jesus Christ? (Matthew 19:26).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"adobe-reg has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-d495e122134a89de0ca9ec767a397b23\" style=\"color:#1a1a1ab3;font-size:18px;letter-spacing:0px\">The breastplate protects the heart and other vital organs (Ephesians 6:14). Proverbs 4:23 says, \u201cKeep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.\u201d Christ\u2019s righteousness protects you against Satan\u2019s accusations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"adobe-reg has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-b5bedb4a00c12a8f3184cde02724f026\" style=\"color:#1a1a1ab3;font-size:18px;letter-spacing:0px\">Put on \u201cgospel shoes\u201d so you can march wherever God leads (Ephesians 6:16). Satan will try to place obstacles in our path, but in Jesus\u2019 strength we can walk forward, confident in the salvation he provided for us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"adobe-reg has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-7a67fd57ae241972402a1669bbef18a3\" style=\"color:#1a1a1ab3;font-size:18px;letter-spacing:0px\">\u201cAbove all . . . [take] the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one\u201d (Ephesians 6:16). When Satan attacks with doubts, the shield of faith turns aside his blows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"adobe-reg has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-07564111af433cf9346dfca5a5c89635\" style=\"color:#1a1a1ab3;font-size:18px;letter-spacing:0px\">The helmet protects the head\u2014perhaps the most vital part of the body since it is the seat of thought and mind-sets (Ephesians 6:17). When we have a sure knowledge of our salvation, Satan\u2019s deceptions will not deter us. Say, \u201cI wonder what God is doing, not I wonder what the devil\u2019s doing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"adobe-reg has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-56cd9689701b17e954caffa84d60bcc2\" style=\"color:#1a1a1ab3;font-size:18px;letter-spacing:0px\">The sword of the Spirit is the only weapon of offense (Ephesians 6:17). The other pieces of armor are defensive. God\u2019s Word\u2014the Bible\u2014is described as \u201cliving and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword\u201d (Hebrews 4:12). Satan cowers before it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"adobe-reg has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-62c3c5ae7149b97724e2459f83cc93ee\" style=\"color:#1a1a1ab3;font-size:18px;letter-spacing:0px\">Romans 12:2 reminds us that our perspective matters. And, by golly, no matter how hard it is, we can find reasons to praise God and be joyful. Praise and joy soothe and heal our souls. Satan is baffled when we praise the Holy One in the midst of our heartache, when we\u2019ve stayed Christ-focused as we battle the Enemy and force him to retreat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"adobe-reg has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-d4989c702689468e3582bf0d1c8d0bd6\" style=\"color:#1a1a1ab3;font-size:18px;letter-spacing:0px\">Like Paul, keep your gaze directed forward, not on the past (Philippians 3:13\u201314). Satan loves to remind us of the desperate place we were in, the hopelessness we felt, and the despair we battled. Stay God-focused, not crisis-focused.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"adobe-reg has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-f0a4d3b716cf662a89c93cc69232a33b\" style=\"color:#1a1a1ab3;font-size:18px;letter-spacing:0px\">Finally, remember Paul\u2019s words in 1 Corinthians 2:1\u20135:\u201cWhen I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"adobe-reg has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-7f52b9a2f34793f1fa4f9cbdaef1d097\" style=\"color:#1a1a1ab3;font-size:18px;letter-spacing:0px\">More than anything else, we rely on the power of God in prayer. He is able \u201cto do exceedingly abundantly above or that we ask or think\u201d (Ephesians 3:20).<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"gsp_post_data\" \r\n\t            data-post_type=\"post\" \r\n\t            data-cat=\"uncategorized\" \r\n\t            data-modified=\"120\"\r\n\t            data-created=\"1587477383\"\r\n\t            data-title=\"How Do You Pray?\" \r\n\t            data-home=\"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Have you ever admitted to God, \u201cI\u2019m done. There\u2019s nothing left of me\u201d? What can we do? The Word of God directs us to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Yet we often forget to pray consistently, passionately. In fact, we may pray only when we feel desperate or hopeless. How can we move toward &#8230; <a title=\"How Do You Pray?\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/how-do-you-pray\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about How Do You Pray?\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2291","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/author\/livingstone_g3td4qe3\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Have you ever admitted to God, \u201cI\u2019m done. There\u2019s nothing left of me\u201d? What can we do? The Word of God directs us to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Yet we often forget to pray consistently, passionately. In fact, we may pray only when we feel desperate or hopeless. How can we move toward&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2291","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2291"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2291\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2298,"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2291\/revisions\/2298"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2291"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2291"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2291"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}