The land takes on a whole new appearance when the snow covers all....
Everything looks so fresh and pure when it is blanketed in white. In one
dusting, our perspective is altered and we are forced to look at things
differently, no longer the same old way. That which went unnoticed before
now stands out as the snow falls and lands artistically on every little
thing, accenting the smallest of details with pearliness, bringing a beauty
that wasn't present before. Snow also brings with it a special quietness
to the land and it's inhabitants....
This reminded me of prayer. It too, has the same effect upon our lives.
When we pray, the Lord covers every detail and aspect of our lives with
a whole new appearance and freshness. As we take our troubles to the throne
of grace, He accents hope where there was none before in certain situations
in our lives. Through prayer, the Lord points out beauty where we couldn't
see any before, as our dull perspective on life is pearlized by heaven.
Through prayer He brings a blessed quietness within our hearts....
I hope that I can encourage you to take a fresh look at your prayer life
at the start of this year. How have your habits of prayer been in the
past? Are they healthy enough that you would like to bring them into the
New Year? Usually we start new habits because either the old habits weren't
working or the new habit is more attractive. Which would describe your
prayer life today? Need a new habit of prayer because the old one wasn't
working? Maybe prayer hasn't ever been a habit with you, only something
you "used" when trouble came along....
There are many obstacles to face when you decide to establish new habits
and prayer is not exempt from such obstacles, as you may already know!
The devil continually tries to hinder our prayer lives because he knows
he loses power when we stay on our knees - and we gain it!
Prayer is a mental habit that needs to be established, an emotional habit
that needs to be established, a physical habit that needs to be established,
and a spiritual habit that needs to be established - all of which we are
going to look at today. Prayer should become "second nature" to us as
children of the King! However, it must fill every area of our lives in
order for it to become a habit to us. Have you ever uttered a prayer for
prayer in your life? The disciples did! In Luke 11:1 the request they
put before Jesus was, "Lord, teach us to pray." You see, they wanted prayer
to become second nature to them, a godly habit deeply rooted in their
lives. They first admitted there was much they needed to learn about prayer....
How about you?
MENTAL HABIT OF PRAYER
Phillipians 4: 6&7, "Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer
and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto
God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep
your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."
It is impossible for anyone to despair who remembers that his Helper is
omnipotent... As we develop the habit of prayer, our minds will be emptied
of fear and filled with peace, pictured much like the quietness the snowfall
brings to the land! Our perspective is altered by heaven as we see things
through God's eyes and not our own. Hope glistens where gloom threatened
to take over... As I've said before, our minds are where battles are either
won or lost and we desperately need the peace of God to dwell there, amen?
Such peace is only available through prayer, ladies. It will keep us from
sinking under our troubles... Keep your mind in the habit of prayer, the
habit of peaceful thinking! Peaceful thinking gives birth to continued
prayer and rest in the Lord...
EMOTIONAL HABIT OF PRAYER
1 Peter 5:7, "Casting all your care upon Him, for He careth for you."
As women we are emotional creatures, are we not? Oftentimes we fret ourselves
to no purpose. It should be second nature to us to emotionally be dependent
upon the Lord through prayer. Don't become emotionally dependent upon
anyone or anything else, for these are capable of failing you. The Lord
is not! Though you may think it impossible, your emotions CAN remain stable
through prayer. There is no more anxiety, no more panic, no more fears
or insecurities, no more unbelief, when you have cast all your personal
cares upon God, leaving everything to His disposal. Stop and consider
where you have been casting your cares.... Are you casting them upon pills,
or alcohol, or chocolate, or sleep, or television, the pages of a romance
novel, your mother, your neighbor etc.? If so, you have missed the remedy
to your problem! After all other therapy had failed, there have been men
and women lifted out of disease and melancholy by the serene effort of
prayer...
Ladies, the LORD wants to stablish, strengthen, and settle you emotionally.
This only comes through casting your cares upon HIM through the emotional
habit of prayer, understanding that He truly cares for you!
PHYSICAL HABIT OF PRAYER
Psalm 55:17, "Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry
aloud: and he shall hear my voice."
Ladies, your BODY needs to be involved in your prayer life! Is it too
busy to stop and pray?? Chickens running around with their heads cut off
have no thought to pray! Notice how often this psalmist had a physical
habit of prayer... It was something he frequently engaged in. Bring your
body under the subjection of prayer, won't you? We subject our bodies
to a two hour movie, no problem! We subject our bodies to waiting in line
at the grocery store for food. We subject our bodies to waiting in line
at Wal-mart for a variety of "stuff". We subject our bodies to intense
physical exercise to stay in shape. Why not subject it to prayer too!
You can desire all day long to pray, but it may require you stopping and
getting on your knees to prove to the Lord your seriousness about prayer!
Although posture is not important, there are times that you are better
able to express your dependence upon God better on your knees, a sign
of our helplessness and God's great ability to help us! Yes, prayer needs
to be a physical habit as well as a mental one... The Lord heard this
psalmist's VOICE - has He heard yours lately, dear lady?? Perhaps God's
people wouldn't allow their bodies to visit some of the places they take
them to if they subjected them to prayer more often! Perhaps we wouldn't
abuse our bodies the way we do if we were physically involved in more
prayer time. 1 Corinthians 6:19 & 20 says our bodies are temples of the
Holy Ghost. Does the Spirit have control of your body?? If so, then your
body would be actively involved in prayer....
SPIRITUAL HABIT OF PRAYER
Matthew 26:41, "Watch and pray that ye enter not into temptation: the
spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."
Do you have eyes for spiritual warfare, dear lady? You need to! That is
another purpose for prayer. It needs to be a spiritual habit with us to
watch soberly, to see things through God's eyes and guard against temptation
and those things that draw us away from serving our Lord and into feeding
our flesh. We can pray all day long for someone sick to get well or for
help in financial matters etc., but don't neglect spiritual affairs...
Do not pray for easy lives, pray to be a stronger person! Do not pray
for tasks equal to your powers, pray for powers equal to your task....
How is your spirit doing? The spirit of your family members? The spirit
of your church members? Do you pray for strength to continue faithful
Bible reading? Do you pray for courage in soul-winning? Do you pray for
wisdom and open doors with lost friends and family members? Do you pray
for victory over your fleshly attitudes? Do you pray to avoid those areas
of temptation for your flesh? Do you pray for that brother or sister in
the Lord who has fallen away from spiritual things and become backslidden?
Do you pray for insight in ministering to new converts, or those younger
in the Lord? Ladies, we must have a spiritual habit of prayer! Many church
prayer lists are filled with physical ailments and health needs of the
people, yet very few spiritual matters are considered! One church I visited
in the past actually had their prayer list divided into body parts such
as "Leg Problems", "Stomach Problems" etc. with the appropriate people's
names filed under each category! These lists were enormously long and
yet the "Salvation" category was minute in comparison.... We are fighting
a spiritual battle, are we not?? Open your eyes, Christian lady, take
in the whole picture! Don't become trapped into just praying for physical
needs, the Lord has so much more help for us than that!
When you and I have made prayer a habit in these four areas of our life,
we will be able to say as Psalm 109:4 states,
"....but I give myself unto prayer."
That means your WHOLE self! Not just your mind, not just your body, not
just your emotions or your spirit, but ALL these areas will be given to
the habit of prayer. As you study the Bible, you will find that our Lord
Jesus Christ gave Himself wholly to prayer. He emotionally, physically,
spiritually and mentally placed Himself in the hands of His Father...
Luke 22:44, "And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat
was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground."
I think you would all agree that neither you nor I have ever taken prayer
this seriously, amen ladies? Today many Christians either do not truly
know how to pray or have become very lazy in their habit of prayer. How
do I know that? Because they are falling out of the race daily! The Bible
says in Luke 18:1, "And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that
men ought always to pray, AND NOT TO FAINT." If we are fainting, we aren't
praying!! Let's join the disciples in asking the Lord to teach us to pray
this year! Let's admit that we are lacking in know-how and discipline.
Then we can begin a new habit of praying so that the Lord can open our
eyes to His way of looking at things. Only God can cover all our circumstances
with a whole new look! He wants to bring hope to your eyes and accent
the beauty of those situations that would otherwise appear dull and lifeless
to you. Yes, the Lord wants to fill your whole being with a blessed quietness!!
Don't keep back your emotions, don't keep back your body, don't keep back
your mind, don't keep back your spirit... Give yourself wholly unto prayer,
for in so doing, you are giving yourself completely to Him!
God Bless,
Pam
Isaiah 60:1&2
Copyright 2000 Pamela A. Iannello
