a frontier waiting to be journeyed

the disciples of jesus never asked him to teach them to worship.  they never asked him to teach them how to evangelize.  in 33 years of living with jesus, the disciples never asked him to teach them how to do the miracles he did in their presence.  the only thing the disciples asked jesus to teach them was the way he prayed.  

maybe because the one thing jesus did that impacted the disciples was the way he prayed.

here are 10 ways to learn how to pray:

first...A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step                                                                                             If all you can do is pray and read the bible for one minute…GREAT!  That’s the first step.

second…be willing to be taught how to pray                                                                                                            Jesus’ disciple’s never asked Him to teach them to worship, preach, teach, or heal.  They asked Him to teach them to pray.

third…a great devotional life begins by waiting and listening                                                                                That will take the pressure off from you having to perform.  I think that all of us could sit and listen or wait in His presence and do nothing.

fourth…it is a commitment and not merely a decision                                                                                                When asked why she was so committed to her mission of caring for the abandoned children of India, Mother Teresa said, “My secret is simple.  I have committed myself to prayer.”  

fifth…it takes a specific time set aside or it won’t “just happen”                                                                     
            Create 30 minutes each day.  That means either three 10 minute or two 15 minute segments of your day that are blocked off for reading and prayer.

sixth…almost certainly will happen when you get an accountability partner                                                  There are over 1,000 prayer meetings in the U.S. daily!  Ask someone to call you daily to check up on you, and then you take the next week and call them daily to keep each other accountable.

seven…use an online journal or an application on your phone to read and pray                                                    You could use worldprayerteam.org on the web or virtuebible application for your phone

eight…when we use worship, prayer, and reading together our time will be more creative                               The combination of the three is explosive.  You cannot separate the Word and Worship

nine…praying the prayers of the Bible help you when you don’t know how to pray or what to read            Read the book of Psalms (specifically chapters 119-139) out loud.  There are many prayers in Psalms about the power of the Word.

ten…people who are great prayers and readers can challenge us                                                                          Ask an older person (not a peer) to mentor you in the area of spiritual discipline or read on some of the great prayer warriors of the past (start with icons such as Corrie TenBoom, A.W. Tozer, D.L. Moody, R.A.Torrey, Smith Wigglesworth, Jonathan Whitefield, Thomas Hyde, and  Hudson Taylor).

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