Dr. Stanley Spence, Pastor First Baptist Church, Lincolnton, N.C.
Prayer is the most understated resource of a Christian. Start your prayers with praising God for all His great and infinite attributes. Then confess your sin and anything separating you from a deeper committed relationship with Him. Now move to thanksgiving for all he has provided for you, your family and friends. Following your confession, repent, change from your sinful patterns, then pray for others as you are aware of their needs. Pray for the concerns you have and that of your community, region, and nation. Expand your prayer to include the people groups of the world. We can remember our prayer by the acronym, ACTS; adoration, confession, thanksgiving and supplication. Finally, we should listen to God in our prayers. Remain silent and check our spirits for any messages He may be sending us.
If we were to make prayer the priority it deserves we may see a revival without putting up a single flyer. It is God who tears down and it is God who brings the growth. Sometimes, he tears down to bring the growth (you remember the parable of pruning the vine to bring more produce). This isn’t about removing people but, it’s about removing any character flaw we have that interferes with God’s love being revealed through us. Prayer has the power to release the hand of God’s blessing. We would do well to lean into Him.
Why is prayer so important? It is the primary way of interacting with God on a personal level. He welcomes it and responds to it. What would you like God to do in your life? What would like God to do in the lives of others? Start with prayer.
Sign up for our FREE email service and we'll send you an email every day with links to our articles posted since the previous day's email. That way, you won't miss the latest news, obituaries, sports and other items of interest for Lincoln, Gaston, Catawba and Cleveland counties.
To make sure you get the latest updates, also like our Facebook page at LincolnHerald.net and follow us on Twitter @LincolnHerald20.
