Power in Prayer

Today I wanted to talk about something a little different. We talked about how important it is to read the Bible in our last blog post as well as some tips and tricks for studying the Bible. Now I would like to talk a little bit about the importance of prayer and give you guys a sneak peek into my prayer journal so you can see the way I track God moving in my life. The truth is I have always known that God was working in my life, but there are so many little things that I have prayed for that he has answered that I truly would have forgotten had I not written them down. It is such an amazing way to see God moving in your life. First, let’s talk about the importance of prayer, then I will show you how I write in my journal.

3 Reasons Why It is Important to Pray

1.     God Commands you to Pray: Prayer is such a sweet way of communicating with God and seeing him move in your life. It is important to remember that several times throughout the Bible God encourages us to pray. The Bible even emphasizes that even Jesus prayed. It was so important that Jesus spoke on the subject before his crucifixion.  

1 Thessalonians 5:17 says to pray without ceasing.

1 Timothy 2:1 says I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men.

Matthew 6:5-15 emphasizes the importance of prayer as well as how to pray. It also emphasizes the intimacy of prayer. It is one of Jesus’s teachings and is a very well-known passage. This is the passage that contains the LORD’s Prayer.

2.     God hears your prayers: It is confirmed several times in the Bible that God hears, answers, and is pleased by our prayers.

2 Chronicles 7:12 says And the LORD appeared to Solomon by night, and said unto him, I have heard thy prayer, and have chosen this place to myself for an house of sacrifice.   

Proverbs 15:29 The LORD is far from the wicked; but he heareth the prayer of the righteous

3.     We are Weak, but He is Strong: On our not-so-good days, prayer can often be used as a way to help us grow closer to God and give us the strength to make it through. We pray so that we can be strong enough not to give into our fleshly desires, but the truth is sometimes we fail. We give into temptation and fall into the desires of the flesh. Lucky for us we can also find forgiveness through prayer. This is one of the most powerful uses of prayer and helps us to feel at peace with others and be at peace with God.

Matthew 26:41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

Mark 11:24-26 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.

Now that you have an idea of some reasons why it is a good idea to pray let me show you my prayer journal. Keep in mind that some prayers within this journal have been blacked out in order to protect the privacy of those involved.  So let me explain how it works. I use my iPad to journal my prayers using a template I created to help me along the way. The first pages are used for prayers that I am actively praying. I circle the box each time I say the prayer.

 

When the prayer has been answered I use the Select tool and drag and drop the prayer to the pages located in the back of the book titled Answered Prayers.

This is such an amazing way to visibly see God moving in my life and it allows me to give so much praise for the small things that otherwise might have been forgotten. If you would like to use this template please let me know by emailing purifiedperspective@gmail.com and I will send you a copy free of charge. 

Otherwise, you can purchase the template at the following link Prayer Journal Template.