Saturday, October 5, 2013
Zee48
Posts: 789 Member
Fighting Anxiety with Prayer
Luke 11:1-4
New International Version (NIV)
Jesus’ Teaching on Prayer
11 One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”
2 He said to them, “When you pray, say:
“‘Father,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come.
3 Give us each day our daily bread.
4 Forgive us our sins,
for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.
And lead us not into temptation.’”
The value of prayer was something Gideon knew well. He had a lengthy discussion with the Angel of the Lord about who He was and what God was doing. He also had conversations with God, trying to resolve his doubts. Then, as the battle was drawing close, more communication took place while God gave him instructions. Through prayer, he experienced intimacy with the Lord, answers to his questions, and direction for his life.
Just as He did for Gideon, God invites us to talk over our worries with Him. He longs to replace our anxious burdens with His peace, which surpasses all comprehension. We have several advantages over Gideon when we pray. First, we have the Bible—God’s instruction book for living—which is full of information about who the Lord is and what He is doing. The more we believe His Word and understand His plans, the more confidently we will talk to Him. Second, we have the presence of the Holy Spirit to guide us into the truth of God’s Word and interpret it for us. As we discover how relevant the Scriptures are to our situation, we will learn to pray from God’s perspective. Our prayers will be more about what He wills than what we want. And third, Jesus, our risen Savior, is interceding for us, and the Holy Spirit is praying on our behalf when words fail us. We do not pray alone.
Through our communion with God, we can experience His presence as Gideon did. It is here that our spiritual needs are met and we are freed from anxiety so we can live a life of trust.
Luke 11:1-4
New International Version (NIV)
Jesus’ Teaching on Prayer
11 One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”
2 He said to them, “When you pray, say:
“‘Father,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come.
3 Give us each day our daily bread.
4 Forgive us our sins,
for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.
And lead us not into temptation.’”
The value of prayer was something Gideon knew well. He had a lengthy discussion with the Angel of the Lord about who He was and what God was doing. He also had conversations with God, trying to resolve his doubts. Then, as the battle was drawing close, more communication took place while God gave him instructions. Through prayer, he experienced intimacy with the Lord, answers to his questions, and direction for his life.
Just as He did for Gideon, God invites us to talk over our worries with Him. He longs to replace our anxious burdens with His peace, which surpasses all comprehension. We have several advantages over Gideon when we pray. First, we have the Bible—God’s instruction book for living—which is full of information about who the Lord is and what He is doing. The more we believe His Word and understand His plans, the more confidently we will talk to Him. Second, we have the presence of the Holy Spirit to guide us into the truth of God’s Word and interpret it for us. As we discover how relevant the Scriptures are to our situation, we will learn to pray from God’s perspective. Our prayers will be more about what He wills than what we want. And third, Jesus, our risen Savior, is interceding for us, and the Holy Spirit is praying on our behalf when words fail us. We do not pray alone.
Through our communion with God, we can experience His presence as Gideon did. It is here that our spiritual needs are met and we are freed from anxiety so we can live a life of trust.
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Lord, let me experience Your presence as Gideon did so that I can live a life of trust and free from anxiety.0
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