"Do not be anxious about anything,
but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,
present your requests to God."
Philippians 4:6
I am so thankful that God has given us the freedom to come before Him and present our requests to Him. In fact, scripture instructs us to do so. There is no benefit in being anxious and worrying, it will not increase our days or remove our circumstances. The verse in Philippians tells us that we are not to be anxious about ANYTHING, rather we are to pray about EVERYTHING, and to do so with THANKSGIVING. We are told in Matthew 7:7 to be persistent in our prayers and God will answer. "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you."
God wants to answer our requests, however I don't see prayer as an opportunity to just come and ask for the things we desire or need. For me, prayer is a special time when I can humbly lay my heart before God, acknowledging His marvelous ways and deeds, surrendering my heart and life to His will. It is a time of communication between me and my Lord; it is a time of refreshing and brings about spiritual growth. Colossians 4:2 reads "Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving;" Jesus Himself set for us the example of being devoted to prayer, and the power of prayer in our lives is phenomenal.
I hope you can give thanks today for the gift of prayer.
Linda
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