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A Message from Pastor Gregg |
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Take the Challenge:
5 minutes a day alone with God
I am encouraging everyone to accept the challenge of spending at least 5 minutes per day in prayer with our Great Lord and Savior. Too often we look at prayer as a time to call upon the Lord when there are struggles or difficulties in our lives. We look at praying as a means to help us get through our problems. Unfortunately we fall into the mentality that prayer is kind of a "get out of jail free" card when we have problems. But prayer is most effective when we are committed to a life of prayer and it is a normal part of our daily existence. If we pray only when we have problems, we are not using prayer for its intended purposes. The Lord wants us to pray to Him so that we can have a relationship with Him. He loves giving to us but He wants to answer our requests as an outgrowth of a normal relationship with us. GOD WANTS US TO TALK TO HIM.
He wants us to praise Him for who He is; He wants us to thank Him for what He has already done for us; He wants us to agree with Him when we sin and fall short in wrong behavior; and He also wants us to come to Him for the needs and wants we have in our lives.
Prayer is often a neglected aspect of our faith, but it is so vitally important in our lives. It is my belief that if we can commit just 5 full minutes per day in prayer, occasionally we will spend more than 5 minutes praying. And here’s a promise…if you will dedicate just 5 minutes per day to be alone with God in prayer, your Christian life will change. Now I mean a full 5 minutes and not merely a short period of time. Here are 5 suggestions to help make this 5 minutes more meaningful.
1.Be totally by yourself.
2. Whisper aloud when you pray Silent prayer sometimes provides an opportunity for your mind to wonder. You may begin to pray to yourself and before you know it, you are off on a stream of thought totally unrelated to the prayer you started. Whispering softly to the Lord helps keep you on track.
3. Remember that you are approaching the God who created everything. Don’t be so casual with Him that you simply begin by telling Him all the things you want. Begin your prayers by praising God for His attributes, His holiness, His grace and mercy. Remember to thank Him for things He has done for you. Acknowledging His greatness demonstrates a humble expression of your need and it will help you keep God in His proper perspective.
4. Confess your sins specifically. Don’t just ask for forgiveness by saying “Lord, forgive me for all of my sins.” What sins are you talking about? Remember you can’t hide anything from God. Confession should also inherently possess an attitude of genuine repentance. Confession without an attitude of genuine repentance is empty. Through confession we come to agree with God about our wrong attitudes and conduct.
5. Present all of your requests to God. Remember that God knows what you need before you ask Him. Prayer is not our time to change God’s mind about what we want. Rather, prayer is God’s time to help us change our mind to conform to His will and character. James 5:16 says, "The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much." James makes the point that a person who lives a life of continual prayer has great influence with God. However, too often Christians pray only when they have a need in their life. Prayer is not really the daily pattern of their life, but they try to use prayer as a gimmick to get what they want when they don't like their circumstances. This type of prayer merely feeds their selfish desires. Here's the point: daily prayer is God's time to influence your attitudes and thinking so that you think more like Jesus. Prayer is not a time to just get what we want but it is a time to commune with our Holy and Righteous Creator. He is our Heavenly Father and He wants to have our undivided attention so that He can mold and shape us into the image of Jesus. This is the spirit of James 5:16.
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About Living Hope
Living Hope is a non-denominational, evangelical church whose purpose is to glorify God by seeing our lives as a ministry and every relationship as a ministry opportunity. We are a grace-oriented ministry because we realize how much we need God’s grace and mercy all the time. As a result of understanding our need for God’s grace, we are very willing to extend grace to others. Nobody is perfect around here.
Living Hope Community Church
meets at
Excel Academy
located at
84th and Simms
in Arvada
( 11500 W 84th Ave Arvada, CO 80005)
Telephone:
(303) 748-1545
Postal address:
4817 Pasadena Way
Broomfield, CO 80020
Our Sunday morning service begins at 9:30 a.m. and ends around 11:00 a.m. Sunday school for children sixth grade and under (also known as KIDZONE) coincides with the worship service. Come a little early for the coffee and donuts before the service!! |
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