Monday, November 19, 2012 Do You Know How to Pray?

Romans 8:26-27

New International Version (NIV)

²⁶ In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. ²⁷ And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

Straight from my bible's life application: "as a believer, you are not left to your own resources to cope with problems. Even when you don't know the right words to pray, the Holy Spirit prays with and for you, and God answers...ask the Holy Spirit to intercede for you "in accordance with God's will". Then, when you bring your requests to God, trust that He will always do what is best."  I find it very common when I speak with others, that many tell me they don't know how to pray or what to say. I always try to reassure them by telling them that the Lord knows our words before we ever speak them, He hears our cries before we ever shed them therefore there are "no wrong words". He will guide you and help you, just like the bible tells us. Now we have to be mindful that all prayer requests must align with His Word or you will be asking in vain. As it clearly says the Holy Spirit will intercede according to His will, not ours. We pray and ask for things all the time that are not of God or lined with His will and then when the prayer goes unanswered we get mad at God. Instead of taking accountability,we shift the blame. I have been blessed in the past to hear the Lord's voice actually correct my prayer words. He went as far as to instruct me on what to say and when I obeyed and recited His prayer, He answered it. For others...praying intimidates them. I used to not want to pray out loud and had to ask the Lord for boldness and you know what? I can now pray for others and I may not speak as eloquently as the next but like my Father tells me in His Word, He gives me the words to speak and guides me through my prayers. I was once thrown very off guard when someone asked me to pray out loud for them and I just felt the power of the Holy Spirit take over and without hesitation or fear, I prayed and words came out and I had no idea what I was saying. After I asked my husband if I was okay and he told me I prayed beautifully and that shows the power of God. So you be bold in your prayer life. Just know that He loves you and loves to hear from you. And He will always intercede on your behalf because you are special. Have a blessed Monday!