Focus on Prayer!
MY CONVERSATIONS WITH GOD
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Focus on Prayer
Welcome to the OABG Daily Blog and Podcast!
This morning the Holy Spirit told me to FOCUS ON PRAYER. How did I hear that? I flipped open my Bible today for a Word from God and I landed right smack dab on Luke 11! Now the Lord had already shown me His prayer in Matthew 6:9-13 just a few days ago. I believe it was this past Saturday when the Lord told me “It’s Really Simple.”
So when I turned to the prayer again, but this time in Luke, the Holy Spirit showed me something different. In the study notes for Luke 11:1, it says they had observed Jesus’s commitment to and the results of his prayer, and they wanted to have the same experience. The only way we can experience the results that Jesus got is to FOCUS ON PRAYER.
Once Jesus was in a certain place praying. As he finished, one of his disciples came to him and said, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”
2 Jesus said, “This is how you should pray:
“Father, may your name be kept holy.
May your Kingdom come soon.
3 Give us each day the food we need,
4 and forgive us our sins,
as we forgive those who sin against us.
And don’t let us yield to temptation.”
What does it mean to focus on prayer? I believe it means to study exactly what Jesus said when the disciples asked Him to teach them how to pray. And beyond that, when you keep reading in Luke 11, it gets to verses 5-13 where it says He ALSO said to them. Now peep the word ALSO. That means Jesus added to His teaching of the prayer by giving them examples. I love examples because it really helps me to apply the lesson. Jesus didn’t just tell them how to pray, He gave an example.
5 Then, teaching them more about prayer, he used this story: “Suppose you went to a friend’s house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You say to him, 6 ‘A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat.’ 7 And suppose he calls out from his bedroom, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is locked for the night, and my family and I are all in bed. I can’t help you.’ 8 But I tell you this—though he won’t do it for friendship’s sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence.
9 “And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.
11 “You fathers—if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake instead? 12 Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion? Of course not! 13 So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.” Luke 11:5-13 NLT
The Tony Evans Bible Study Notes say: Bold persistence in a relationship with God leads to needs being met. We are not to just sit back and wait for things to happen. Jesus calls us to ask, seek, knock… IN PRAYER! And the best heavenly gift we can ask God for is the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is available to operate on God’s behalf through our prayers for our benefit and through us for the benefit of others.
Today, I encourage you to join me in FOCUSING ON PRAYER. Remember it doesn’t mean to babble on and on. But to really be persistent in our relationship with God. To be persistent in non-negotiable time spent with God first thing in the morning. To seek Him like never before in our lives. When we focus on prayer, it means we are focusing on having daily conversations with God.
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YOUR ASSIGNMENTS
What did the Lord God say to you in your conversation with Him this morning?
How will you focus more on prayer in your life?
REMINDER: Don’t forget to read the Scriptural Bible Study below and see what the Lord says to you about it.
SALVATION PRAYER
If you’re not a believer and have a desire to be, openly confess and declare with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead (Romans 10:9). When you pray that prayer out loud, you are saved. Get connected with a good, bible-based church in your community and start having a conversation through prayer with God every day. And let me be the first to welcome you to your new life with Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. YAAAAY!!!!! You made the best decision you could ever make! Feel free to email me at info@onassignmentbyGod.com and let me know about your newfound life or if you need prayer for anything.
Check out today’s Scriptural Bible Study!!