Asking in Prayer
This is the second part of the series on Prayer.
Prayer is the ultimate privilege of speaking to God as our Father, our Daddy. Jesus referred to this relationship with God as one that is as personal as the one we would have with our own Dad. When Jesus taught His disciples how to pray, He said to address God as “Father”, using a word that translated in English means “a nourisher, protector, upholder”* (Matthew 6:9; 7:11) .
Perhaps your earthly Dad was not the ideal nourisher. If your relationship lacked his protection, his pride in your accomplishments, his words of encouragement, a listening ear, his love–no matter what you had done, please know that your Heavenly Daddy waits with open arms to provide for all of your needs.
Scripture is full of passages calling our heart to “Abba Daddy”. The Lord encourages us to ask, seek, and knock in Matthew 7:7; pray always in 1 Thessalonians 5:17; pray and do not give up i n Matthew 26:41; pray that your joy (the kind the Lord gives) may be full in John 16:24; pray when you are in trouble or when you are sick in James 5:13.
These are only a few instances of when and how to pray. I encourage you to look up the word, pray or prayer in a Bible dictionary and read each passage, hanging onto and bringing to your heart the ones that speak to you.
“O you who hear prayer , to you all men will come.” Psalm 65:2
“If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much will your Father (Daddy–parenthesis, mine) in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him.” Matthew 7:11
“What have you learned about prayer? How do you view God? What questions do you still have about prayer?”
*definition taken from Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old AND New Testament Words, copyright 1985 by Thomas Nelson Inc., Publishers.
repost from the archives
From My Heart to Yours,
Janis
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Thanks for the post. Our pastor is doing a sermon series on the Lord’s Prayer. Your thoughts here affirm what we are learning at church. If you would like to check out any of the sermons you can go to bethanynaz.org and they are listed under the Media section. ~ Grace and peace.
LaShorne,
Thank you for additional input on prayer. A reminder that it is powerful and perfected in our Heavenly Father.
Stephani,
Thank you for stopping by again and for the tips from your church website. I’m glad that what I said on prayer is aligned to what you are hearing from your pastor.
In Him,
Janis
What a great post, Janis. My Daddy was a wonderful daddy, and I was always a daddy’s girl. It took me a long time, though, to get comfortable with thinking of Ooour Faaather as my daddy. It seemed so disrespectful. It’s so comforting now to know that He loves me just like my daddy did, only so much more. I’m so grateful to be able to think of Him as “Daddy.”
Janis, thanks for sharing on prayer. Not only is it a privilege, but prayer is very powerful. I am thankful for my earthly father who was a nourisher, protector and upholder which means “how much more” will my Heavenly Father overflow in those roles towards me.
Blessings and peace to you!
My father was a spiritual man who had such a deep and profound love for God that falling into the pattern of seeing God as a father was no problem. I prayed in this fashion from a very young age.
In the last year though I have felt the need to move beyond just “Father” and to explore the other elements of the Godhead such as lover, mother, creator, redeemer, comforter. I am not used to these, especially the feminine sides of God. My discoveries have been surprising, uplifting, eye opening and wondrous. I look forward to more and more insight as and when God gifts it.
As for prayer itself… I always journalled as a young child, in my teens I made lists and now as an adult I find that my conversations are less structured, more continual, more habitual, more throughout the day. They have become an exchange of words but also silence. I am listening more than speaking.
And strangely, I know that I am in closer communion. It has become less about me and more about Him. I am persuing rather than requesting.
But then there are the dry seasons, the droughts… In these times, only silence has the capacity to bring me back into the fold again.
Prayer is so powerful . . . and what an incredible gift to pour out our hearts any place and any time and know God who loves us more than anyone else – is listening to each word.
Rachel
Claire,
What a beautiful journey you are on. Discovering all the dimensions of our dynamic Lord and Savior. In listening, I believer, too, that the relationship grows deeper. We become more open to surrendering to the voice of the One who loves us above all else. And we can then respond to His love.
Thank you for sharing your beautiful insights.
From My Heart to Yours,
Janis
Rachel,
Thank you for bringing your heart to the depth of prayer. True, what a gift to pour out hearts anytime, and know He is there ready to answer our need.
From My Heart to Yours,
Janis
I really enjoyed this re-post, Janis – much food for thought.
I have really come to view God as my daddy – just like Jesus taught us to do. And He is the perfect Father – patient, honest, loving, supportive – the list goes on and on…
He is always there for me – and I am privileged to be His beloved princess.
I have learned that prayer is conversation, and I can pray when I write about the Lord, too. One question I still have is what exactly do our prayers do in the spiritual realm? (Like that passage in Daniel – when his prayers brought an angel who had to fight to get through the enemy ranks). James assures us that our prayers “availeth much” – hmmm…
Thanks for re-sharing. GOD BLESS!