Do you consult God before you pray?
I admit that much of the time, I just plunge in and pray without asking the Lord to direct my prayers.
But seeking God's leading in prayer is important.
Why? Because God's will always prevails. And we find out God's will by asking him.
I am not saying that asking God what we want is wrong. God listens to our prayers and responds to our heart cries.
But there is a chance we will miss what God wishes if we don't listen to him first.
What prompted this post was something a friend told me about a prayer experience he had at a conference on church renewal recently.
The conference leader asked those attending to break into groups of two and pray for each other's needs.
My friend and a young man presented their prayer requests to each other. Then, my friend immediately prayed for the young man's requests - just as I would have done.
But the young man spent several minutes in silence before he prayed. He was asking God for leading.
Did the young man pray what God wants? I don't know, but I believe he had a good chance of so doing.
Inviting the Holy Spirit into our prayers is widespread these days - especially, in healing prayer groups. But it is easy to forget the importance of the Spirit's guidance.
The apostle Paul urges us in Ephesians 6:18 to "pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion".
There are debates about whether this means speaking in tongues or not. But what it surely means is that we should should seek the aid of the Holy Spirit in our prayers.
The great Norwegian Christian, O. Hallesby, writes in his book Prayer that we should "pray for the Spirit of prayer".
He notes that we often feel that our prayers are inadequate or that we are praying wrongly. If so, we should ask God for the Spirit of prayer.
"He will not only show you the meaning and purpose of prayer; he will also lift you up in all your helplessness to the very heart of God where you will be warmed by his love, so that you can again begin to pray according to his will, asking for nothing except those things which are in harmony with his plans and purposes."
King David sought God's leading often during his life, even in battles.
The Philistines decided to attack Israel shortly after they heard David had become king (1 Samuel 5).
David asked God: "Shall I go and attack the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me?"
God told David he would give him the victory. David won an initial battle, but the Philistines marched against the Israelites again.
So David "inquired of the Lord" and God responded by giving him specific directions on how to defeat the Philistines including circling around them and attacking from behind. The sign to attack was to be the "sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees". David obeyed and won decisively.
Perhaps the biggest obstacle to hearing what God wants is our own self-will. Once we have elected to follow God's will, we are assured he will follow through (1 John 5:14-15).
So, the first step for me is to say to the Lord: "I will pray what you want, not what I want."
Then, I must pause and listen before I pray.
I admit that much of the time, I just plunge in and pray without asking the Lord to direct my prayers.
But seeking God's leading in prayer is important.
Why? Because God's will always prevails. And we find out God's will by asking him.
I am not saying that asking God what we want is wrong. God listens to our prayers and responds to our heart cries.
But there is a chance we will miss what God wishes if we don't listen to him first.
What prompted this post was something a friend told me about a prayer experience he had at a conference on church renewal recently.
The conference leader asked those attending to break into groups of two and pray for each other's needs.
My friend and a young man presented their prayer requests to each other. Then, my friend immediately prayed for the young man's requests - just as I would have done.
But the young man spent several minutes in silence before he prayed. He was asking God for leading.
Did the young man pray what God wants? I don't know, but I believe he had a good chance of so doing.
Inviting the Holy Spirit into our prayers is widespread these days - especially, in healing prayer groups. But it is easy to forget the importance of the Spirit's guidance.
The apostle Paul urges us in Ephesians 6:18 to "pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion".
There are debates about whether this means speaking in tongues or not. But what it surely means is that we should should seek the aid of the Holy Spirit in our prayers.
The great Norwegian Christian, O. Hallesby, writes in his book Prayer that we should "pray for the Spirit of prayer".
He notes that we often feel that our prayers are inadequate or that we are praying wrongly. If so, we should ask God for the Spirit of prayer.
"He will not only show you the meaning and purpose of prayer; he will also lift you up in all your helplessness to the very heart of God where you will be warmed by his love, so that you can again begin to pray according to his will, asking for nothing except those things which are in harmony with his plans and purposes."
King David sought God's leading often during his life, even in battles.
The Philistines decided to attack Israel shortly after they heard David had become king (1 Samuel 5).
David asked God: "Shall I go and attack the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me?"
God told David he would give him the victory. David won an initial battle, but the Philistines marched against the Israelites again.
So David "inquired of the Lord" and God responded by giving him specific directions on how to defeat the Philistines including circling around them and attacking from behind. The sign to attack was to be the "sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees". David obeyed and won decisively.
Perhaps the biggest obstacle to hearing what God wants is our own self-will. Once we have elected to follow God's will, we are assured he will follow through (1 John 5:14-15).
So, the first step for me is to say to the Lord: "I will pray what you want, not what I want."
Then, I must pause and listen before I pray.
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