Improving Our Prayer Life

Last weekend, I attended a Prayer Conference, and today I would like to share some of the things that I learned.

• Your prayer life will look different as you mature spiritually.  Just as we relate to people differently as we grow, we will also relate to God differently.
• The foundation for a vibrant prayer life is understanding that God is our Father.  It is a love relationship, and answers to our prayers are our Father’s personal expression of His love for us.
• Good Fathers both love and hold their children accountable.  Though God loves us, we must also “fear” Him, as our fear is an acknowledgment of God as the authority over our lives.  He is a good Father, and prayer is how we express our understanding of Him. 
• Rejoice in the Lord! We should be so enthralled with our Father that we constantly look for reasons to give Him thanks.
• Confession and repentance should be “God-focused.”  If our emphasis is on our guilt, we are “me-focused.”  Being sorry that we have grieved our Father moves us toward a “God-focused” repentance.
• Remember that Jesus answered every crazy question the Disciples asked.  His answers were not always what they wanted, but He answered.  He will answer us also! His answers will be such that we can understand who He is and what His purpose is.
• Our God, who hears our requests, is present, all-powerful, all-knowing, and perfectly good!
• We need to pray for one another.  When we pray together and God answers our requests, it creates a community of gratitude.  You cannot see God move at the level you desire unless you are praying with and for others.
• Working with God is essential to a relationship with Him.  God answers at any level of spiritual maturity, but power in prayer occurs when we work with our Father in the assignments He gives us.
• Working with God can change the way we pray, as it changes our outlook as we consider what we can do for Him.  It also causes us to listen more, and we are more likely to hear what God is saying and accept His answer. 

I hope this message will help each of us to have a more vibrant and powerful prayer life.