TODAY'S WORD 22 APRIL 2014:PRAYER

Prayer:

There is no weapon formed against prayer that can neutralize it. Some things can delay answers to prayer, but nothing can stop the full purpose of God. "Though it tarry, wait for it."

The first requirement in prayer is to believe.

-Believe that God is and that "he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."

-Believe that God is alive and therefore has power-not only for Peter's deliverance, but for ours.

-Believe that God is love and that He cares for His own.

-Believe that God is power and therefore no power can stand against Him.

-Believe that God is truth and therefore cannot lie.

-Believe that God is kind and that He will never abdicate His throne or fail in His promise.

Reflecting on the story of Peter, I am rebuked, humiliated, chagrined, stung. Why? Because there are some great modern saints, Watchman Nee for one, who for years have suffered and been held captive by communists and others. Many of the saints today are shut up in prison.

Such perils to other members of the Body demand concern, concentration, and consecration to a committed plan of prayer on their behalf. I fear that prayer has not been made to God without ceasing for these suffering kinsmen.

We Christians are in captivity on many levels today personal, domestic, church, and missionary enterprise. But fetters break and dungeons fall when prayer is made by the church unto God-

-Prayer without ceasing;

-Prayer that might shatter our status quo;

-Prayer that drains us of every other interest;

-Prayer that excites us by its immense possibilities;

-Prayer that sees God as the One that rules on high, almighty to save;

-Prayer that laughs at impossibilities and cries, "It shall be done";

-Prayer that sees all things beneath His feet;

-Prayer that is motivated with desire for God's glory.

The praying of the believer can become a ritual. The place of prayer is more than a dumping ground for all our anxieties, frets, and fears. The place of prayer is not a place to drop a shopping list before the throne of a God with endless supplies and limitless power.

I believe the place of prayer is not only a place where I lose my burdens, but also a place where I get a burden. He shares my burden and I share His burden. "My yoke is easy and my burden is light." To know that burden, we must hear the voice of the Spirit. To hear that voice, we must be still and know that He is God.

Happy Easter.