One of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray." Luke 11:1
What is prayer? What is its purpose? The purpose of prayer is to communicate with God. But a full and effective prayer life consists of more than a shopping list, a catalog of things you need or want. While God invites -- yes, even encourages -- us to bring all our requests to Him, He desires that we accept His will according to His Word as we pray. When our wills come into line with His, as they do when we pray, "Not my will, but Yours be done" (Luke 22:42), our lives are altered in a fundamental way.
The process of prayer is the heartbeat of our faith in our Lord. Are your will and desires in line with God's Word for your life? Make it a major part of your prayer life to submit your will, and then your actions, to His Word.
Oh, yes, prayer makes a difference. God answers prayer according to His Word and will. He responds to our pleading and removes the obstacles that block our Christian way. God promises to hear and answer our prayers. But above all, when we pray He brings our wills into line with His through the Word and sacraments. God's will becoming your desire -- glorious thought! Pray, indeed, that the Holy Spirit cause your will to come into line with God's as you pray, "Your will, dear Lord, not mine, be done."
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, hear my prayers and by them bring my life into line with Your will; in Jesus' name. Amen.
(Devotions from "The Abundant Life" copyright 1998, CPH. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be printed, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of Concordia Publishing House. Permission is granted for one-time e-mailing of this link to a friend. For information on other devotional material, please contact CPH at 800-325-3040 or visit CPH at www.cph.org.)
Today's Bible Readings: 1 Samuel 1-3 Luke 17:20-37
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