Making the Connection

(read also "what does the bible say about prayer")

God’s idea of prayer is not a ritual, but loving and lively communication between the best of friends.

But sad to say, most people think they can’t talk to God like that. Some think they’re not religious enough, not righteous enough, or not spiritual enough. Some think He’s too big-too far above them. Some think He’s too busy to be concerned about them and their problems, which they think must seem awfully petty to Him. Some feel unworthy, not good enough. Some feel guilty or ashamed about things they’ve done. Some are even afraid of Him. If only they understood how differently God sees it!

God wants to have a personal relationship with each of us, and He wants it to be the deepest, most meaningful, most fulfilling and rewarding, most natural part of our lives. Now that’s not to say He wants to take away from the other relationships and activities that we enjoy and consider important. To the contrary-He wants to be a part of all that. He wants to make our day-to-day living easier, He wants to give the things we experience greater meaning, and He wants to enjoy them with us. In a word, He wants to make our lives better. He wants to add a wonderful new dimension to all that we do-the dimension of His loving presence.

How do we establish such a relationship, especially when we feel small and unspiritual and unworthy? How do we make that connection? Simple: through His Son, Jesus!

None of us can really grasp how great and wonderful God our Father is, because He and His Spirit are greater than the whole universe. He’s so beyond our comprehension that He had to send us Someone who could show us His love, Someone we could experience, Someone who could bring God down to the level of our limited human understanding. So He sent His Son, Jesus.

Jesus lived for thirty-three years on Earth in human form and experienced the joy and sorrows that we as humans experience.1 Jesus has been here, so He can understand us and be the link between us and God.2

We can get personal with Jesus. He even told us to ask Him into our hearts: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.”3 He’s the One we can have direct, personal contact with. He is the One we can approach God through.

If you have prayed to receive Jesus as your Savior, you already have that connection. If not, you can make it right now by sincerely praying a simple prayer like the following:

Dear Jesus, I believe You are the Son of God and that You died for me. I need Your love to cleanse me from my mistakes and wrongdoing. I now open the door of my heart and ask You to please come into my life and give me Your free gift of eternal life. Amen.

© 1999, Aurora Production AG, Switzerland.

Prayer Is Communication

Like any deep and lasting friendship, your relationship with Jesus will be strengthened by frequent honest, open communication. That’s really what prayer is all about: communicating heart-to-heart with the Lord.

But just how do you communicate with the Lord? Believe it or not, it’s quite simple.

To get started, try sitting down in a quiet spot and picture Jesus there next to you. Then talk to Him just like you would to a good friend. You can talk to Him aloud or in your mind. The exact words you say aren’t what matter-just tell Him what’s on your heart.

Actually, you can pray anywhere, at anytime. You don’t have to be either sitting or standing. You don’t have to be in a church, a religious building, or any special place. Prayer connects your heart with God’s heart, regardless of your surroundings.

Many people associate prayer with asking God for things. But that’s only a part of prayer. Of course He wants you to tell Him your needs, but He also wants you to just spend time with Him telling Him about how things are going in your life. Tell the Lord how much you love Him and how thankful you are for all the good things He sends your way. Tell Him all about your dreams and desires, problems and questions, and He will give you strength, inspiration, reassurance and answers you need.

Jesus is at your beck and call-just a prayer away-and He’s always happy to lend an ear and a helping hand. He’s interested in you and what you’re going through, and He’s happy to hear and answer your requests.

But there’s more to prayer than that.

Jesus also wants to communicate with you, to talk to you. He wants to give you personal words of love and encouragement, and He wants to help you with your problems. He has all the answers, but how can He give them to you if you don’t listen? You need to learn to recognize His voice when He speaks to your spirit and puts thoughts in your mind.

Jesus will also speak to you through His written Word, the Bible, but to get the most out of it you need to pray and listen to Him as you read. Then He can explain how what you’re reading applies to you and today’s world. He will fill in gaps and provide added detail to the often rather general answers in His Word. But again, the key is listening.

Whether it’s your turn to listen or your turn to talk, you can communicate with the Lord at the speed of thought! It’s not like communicating by letter, where you write to someone via the postal system and then have to wait days or weeks to receive their reply.-Or even like sending e-mail via the Internet, where you can get an answer back from the other side of the world in minutes. Your prayers actually reach His ear before they leave your mouth,1 and you can get immediate answers. He may not always be able to give you a complete answer or bring about the final result you desire right away, but at the least He will tell you that He’s heard your prayer and He’s working on it. That assurance alone can give you peace of mind and help problems that seem like mountains melt away. And as you later bring the matter again in prayer before Him, He will continue to work on your behalf and show you what you can do to help work His will in the matter and bring it to a happy, fruitful conclusion.

© 1999, Aurora Production AG, Switzerland.

How Prayer Benefits You

There are so many benefits to spending time with the Lord that you really can’t afford not to! He can help you solve every problem, answer your every question, heal all your heartaches, comfort you when you’re sorrowful, give you joy, and bring you closer to Heaven. The list is endless.

Prayer changes things! It’s one means by which God gives His children what they need or want, as long as it’s good for them and others. “Whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”1

You will be made stronger in spirit. Time spent in quiet reflection and listening builds inner strength that will get you through life’s toughest times. “In the day when I cried out, You answered me, and made me bold with strength in my soul.” 2

You will find rest and renewal when your spirit is sagging and your mind is troubled. “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”1

You will have a more positive outlook on life, because you will be better able to see things through the eyes of faith. Once you have committed a matter to God in prayer, you can then have the assurance that He will take care of it in accordance with His will. That helps you fight against worry and view things more optimistically. “We know that all things work together for good to those who love God.”2 “We walk by faith, not by sight.”3

You will find comfort in times of sadness and grief, reassurance when you’re down and out, and courage to go on when you think you can’t. Jesus will help you see your troubles in proper perspective, as He sees them, and give you peace of mind. “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”4 “In the multitude of my anxieties within me, Your comforts delight my soul.”5

As you receive and apply the things the Lord shows you, you will become wiser. “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.”6

Jesus will guide you through the maze of life. He will help you know what to do when you face problems and tough decisions. He has promised to instruct you, establish your thoughts, and guide your steps. “In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”7 “Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left.”1

He will inspire you with good ideas. “Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.”2

Jesus will prevent some problems from happening by warning you in advance, and give you solutions to others. “Whoever listens to Me will dwell safely, and will be secure, without fear of evil.”3

You can be healed physically. “The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up.”4

You can be forgiven for wrongdoing. “I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,’ and You forgave the iniquity of my sin.”5

You will gain insight into the natural world as well as the spiritual realm. “As it is written: ‘Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him. But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.’”6

Prayer draws on the power of God, so you will be able to accomplish more, and do so more easily. “He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. … Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”7

You will have greater peace of mind. “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”1

You can claim God’s supply of your material needs. “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”2

Jesus will open to you the treasures of His Word if you will pray, as King David did: “Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things from Your law.”3

You can get the Lord’s help even when you don’t know what to ask for. “The Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.”

© 1999, Aurora Production AG, Switzerland.

How Prayer Benefits Others

Your prayers can not only change things for yourself, but they can significantly improve the lives of others. It has been said that praying for others is not the least you can do for them, but the most. Your prayers move the heart and hand of God to take action on their behalf.

Through your prayers others can receive most of the same benefits that you receive when you pray for the same things for yourself-including comfort, protection, freedom from anxiety and fear, healing, material supply, and more.

Because you pray you are also in a better position to help others directly. The Lord often uses people as His agents on Earth, so it could very well be that He wants to use you to help bring about the answers to your own prayers. The very fact you pray for others shows that you’re concerned about their happiness and well-being, and this puts you in a position to better understand His loving plan for their lives and how you can help bring it to pass. When you pray for someone who is sick, for example, He may show you how you can help stir their slumbering faith and thereby help accomplish His dual purpose for the affliction: to heal them as a testimony to them and others of His miracle-working power, and to cause their relationship with Him to blossom.

When you spend time with the Lord in prayer, He fills you with the fruits of the Spirit, which include love, joy, peace, longsuffering, temperance, faith, gentleness, meekness and goodness.1 As you receive more of His Spirit, others will see the Lord and His gifts reflected in your everyday life. “We all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

© 1999, Aurora Production AG, Switzerland.