Luke 11:1-13
Key Verse: Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.” – Luke 11:1
Spiritual B3
Do you think there is a reason that when you try to set aside time to pray; distractions, sleepiness, and a wandering mind seem to go into overdrive? It’s because the enemy knows the power of a disciplined prayer life!
The first two weeks of the journey were about my recovery process. The next phase is about spiritual rediscovery through unlocking the power of prayer, fasting and meditation. Although this is framed in a 40-dayformat, this is an ongoing process that involves constant practice and reflection to become everything God created you to be in order for you to access everything God wants to do for you and through you. It takes work, but it’s worth it.
There is a story told of a man receiving a tour of heaven and eventually he ends up standing in a warehouse with his eyes fixed on a box with his name on it. After being warned by his tour guide that He didn’t want to open that box, the man’s curiosity got the best of him. As he opens the box, he looks in and immediately his eyes open wide, his jaw drops, and a look of troubled confusion falls over his face. The man then poses the question, “What is this? Why do I see what I prayed for but never received and a lot of things I’ve never seen before?” His tour guide regrettably uttered these words, “This box contains what God’s desires for your life, but you stood in the way.”
Are your ready to make the decision that you’re ready to stop getting in God’s way?
Through my brokenness, pain, and rebuilding process one revelation kept coming back to me over and over again. Discipline makes the difference. I heard the Lord say that I can’t be a true disciple without that same root word—discipline. I have been forced to deal with the areas of my life where I lack discipline, because God kept telling me, that is what was holding me back. Germaine to our present topic, I had to pray that the Lord would help me develop the discipline of a set and scheduled prayer life. Once I got that right, most other things began to fall into place.
Our definition of prayer is “A lifestyle of ongoing communication and relationship with God.” I now understand that God wants us to be in constant and ongoing communication with Him, so we are not constricted or limited to set prayer times, but I am sharing what made the difference in my life— when I begin to prize and prioritize prayer by doing what Jesus did giving God the first fruits of my morning and not the leftovers of my day, I had no idea what I was instore for!
The spiritual rediscovery dimensions of the journey starts now!
CPR Kit for the Soul:
• Centering Theme: In your scheduled time of prayer, begin by taking as many cycles of deep breaths as necessary – until you feel your body begin to relax and let go of all distractions so you can give God your full attention.
• Prayer Topic: Prayer is a lifestyle and relationship of constant communication with God, begin to pray about your communication skills, which include not only speaking, but equally importantly listening.
• Reflection Thought: If Jesus had a discipline of regularly scheduled prayer, and certain places He prayed; how do I expect to develop my own prayer life without doing the same? If I don’t do the same am I really serious about prayer?
T3 Prayer Booster:
• Dear Lord, when I think of how much You have done and continue to do for me, I want to recommit to not just telling You I’m thankful butshowing You I’m thankful by consecrating set time to spend with You.
• Lord, I confess that I need You to teach me to pray by not only talking, but maybe more important— learning to listen to Your voice!
• Father God as I grow in the discipline of a set aside and scheduled prayer life, I humbly ask you to reward my discipline by letting me feel Your presence and hear Your voice in new life changing ways!
