Christian: Building Your Prayer Life

A simple, "Your will be done," is all it takes to be on the right track to building a prayer life. Of course, most prayers are much longer than that. But, if you are just learning to pray without reading a prayer, it is a good starting place. When you say, "Your will be done," you are taking the focus off of yourself and letting God reign in your situation. Then, you are free to pray for others. The Power of Simple Prayer: How to Talk with God about Everything is a resource written by Joyce Meyer. Joyce, an inspirational lecturer and evangelist, has more than 70 books in print. She uncovers the mystery of prayer and breaks it down into easy to understand principles.

With the help of Joyce, along with many other ministers, I now have a greater appreciation for the Lord's Prayer. I have a much stronger prayer life. Also, my faith has been built up, by reading the Bible. Now when I read, I don't just go from one word to another. I use study tools, books, and guides to help me get to the root of the meaning. When I meditate on the scriptures, they penetrate and take up residence in my heart. And now when I pray, I rarely pray amiss. Frequently, I see phenomenal results of my prayers. -- Be Blessed and Prosperous!

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Christian: Hearing and Doing God's Word

But, like many people, I didn't take God's Word to heart. I heard it and I didn't hear it. I knew it and I didn't know it. Know what I mean? Then, I started watching Christian television. Yeah, I know there is a lot of criticism about "tel-evangelists," but I learned from them, that I must check out whether what they say is true by looking into the scriptures for myself. Wow, what a concept! I would open my Bible and start looking up the scriptures for myself. Then, it happened. The thing that really changed my prayer life forever. The thing that has renewed my faith and made me into practicing Christian; a Jesus advocate. I heard a message about people who pray "amiss." 

Praying amiss means to pray in error; with the wrong motives or intentions. The wrong motives are selfish motives. James 4:3 says, "Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts." Asking amiss means you are asking as though God were Santa Claus. Gimme, gimme, gimme! It's the battle cry of the prayer warrior that prays amiss. People want something that makes them feel better. "The heck with other people, I have my own needs." What I found out is that God will meet your needs whether you ask Him or not. Yet, when you stop being so self-centered, He will begin to answer your prayers in ways you could have never imagined. --Be Blessed and Prosperous!

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Christian: The Lord's Prayer Magnified

Growing older, I learned the " Lord's Prayer." Boy, what a load off my mind. I was no longer praying to die. I was now praying for "hollowood names," a kingdom coming, daily bread (of, course as a child, my thoughts were a slice of bread), dets, (don't know what that is), delivered from evil (that's the one I liked), and forever. Though not convinced that this prayer had a basis in my reality, I prayed it because it was the only one I knew except for the dying one.  For many, many years, I prayed that prayer; never even thinking about what it meant or whether it was relevant. When I would be in a group and someone would ask, "who would like to pray?" I would never say, "me," because I know the Lord's Prayer is not what they expected. 

I now know the power of the Lord's Prayer; as a model prayer. Pastor Greg Laurie penned an eye opening book called, Wrestling with God: Prayer That Never Gives Up. This book illustrates how prayer works in different people's lives. --And Be Blessed and Prosperous!

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First Prayers for Children

When I was a young girl, I learned two prayers: The first one was, "Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep. I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake. I pray the Lord my soul to take." I remember, at one point, after having said it for years, I began to reflect on the words: "if I should die." Die? I didn't want to die. Am I praying to die? I don't want to pray to die. My solution was, I would just not say "that part" of the prayer when I prayed. My not saying that part of the prayer did not help. I began to have nightmares about dying in my sleep. 

Can you imagine a young child being tortured by the concept of death? I thought, this can't be what Christianity is all about. Afraid to tell anyone that I didn't want to say "that part," I just kept silent. I have since learned that this part of the prayer is actually the best part.  


"We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord." (2 Corinthians 5:8)

--And Be Blessed and Prosperous!

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