Featured photo by Ken Carley
Luke 11:1 “He was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples.”
Most people who have any experience with Sunday School have heard the story of Daniel in the Lion’s Den. But if that’s all you know about Daniel then your knowledge is incomplete. Daniel’s life is full of stories of an extraordinary man serving God.
Although these true events in Daniel’s story are incredible to read, if you miss an important theme of Daniel’s life, you will miss an opportunity to see a beautiful portrait of God interacting with a mere man. He wants the same opportunity with you!
Daniel didn’t treat God like He was a genie in a bottle. He didn’t pray for what God could do for him next. No prosperity gospel existed for Daniel, and it should not be a part of the believer’s life, either.
So, what was it that set Daniel apart? Simply, he prayed. He persistently prayed. He prayed for God’s will in everything. He prayed earnestly. He prayed in danger. He prayed believing.
How can you and I let the Holy Spirit transform our prayer life? If we pay attention to the basics in our walk with God, then we can see our prayer life blossom, which will naturally keep us drawn to the heart of God.
Luke 18:13 “…‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner!’”
The first step is simply to have a sincere and humble heart.
Confess known sin in your life and ask God to reveal any sin that you may be concealing, even from yourself.
Daniel 9:9 “Compassion and forgiveness belong to the Lord our God, though we have rebelled against him.”
One of the ministries of our Holy Spirit is to help us pray. Ask Him to help you! The most important thing is to just pray. If you sincerely want to devote your life to the Lord, just talk to Him. He loves you so much. He wants to hear from you. He already knows every outcome. The more you walk in obedience to the Lord and include Him in your life, the more you will find yourself just talking to Him like a friend.
Many believers tend to draw closer to the Lord in prayer when life gets challenging. Once the clouds have passed, praying tends to take a back seat again. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Talking to God, even if it’s just non-verbally, but in our heart, can and should happen all day long no matter what’s going on.
There is an image that makes me think of a close connection with God. It is the magical time that initially occurs between newborns and their moms and dads. It’s called imprinting. Simply, imprinting is the face-to-face time when newborns recognize and follow their parents by the sound of their voice, by their unique scent and by touch. Imprinting also helps the baby learn language. More than anything, it’s a deepening awareness of security and love.
Those who are devoted to God love to “see” His face and know the language of His love. We’ve been imprinted on the Father’s heart from the beginning of time. He was imprinted on our hearts when we gave our life to Him.
In the Gospel of John 10, Jesus describes the close connection we have to Him when we really know Him. It illustrates the awareness that He has of His own. It’s such a beautiful passage of scripture. Also, see this displayed in Isaiah 40:11 and…
Micah 5:4. He will stand and shepherd them
in the strength of the Lord,
in the majestic name of the Lord his God.
They will live securely,
for then his greatness will extend
to the ends of the earth.
There is an old hymn that sums up our prayer life.
Tell it to Jesus
Edmund Lorenz
Ca. 1876
Tell it to Jesus, tell it to Jesus,
He is a friend that’s well-known;
You’ve no other such a friend or brother,
Tell it to Jesus alone.
James 5:16 “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is very powerful in its effect.”
Resources
Scriptures referenced in this blog are all taken from the Christian Standard Bible – Version the Holy Bible
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
Getting the Seed out of the basket and into hungry hearts. Matthew 13 
Amen, such an encouraging reminder that prayer is as simple as talking to Him and abiding in His love for us. Really love the analogy of imprinting and the special relationship between a newborn and their parents – how wonderful and amazing that we’ve been imprinted on our Heavenly Father’s heart from long before we were born and He imprinted Himself on our hearts when we came to trust in Jesus. Thank you, sister, and God bless you 🙂
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Thank you for your kindness. I’m glad to reach a brother. Please pray for the blog to reach others with the Gospel and our fellow believers for encouragement.
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