Week 3.1
There is something significant and special about the prayer experience. When you seek to connect with God either in private prayer or corporate prayer he responds. He responds by making you aware of His presence.
When you are alone and feeling helpless you will find comfort and peace. When you are with a group of believers lifting up the name of Jesus, he fills you with wonder. When you take the time to count your blessings, he fills you with gratitude.
There’s no special formula when you pray. You don’t have to use the perfect words or phrases. All God cares about is that you are calling out to him in an attitude of worship and praise. There are several model prayers for examples of prayer in scripture. Let’s look at a few of them.
6 Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7
Here are a few things I want us to notice about the passage.
Pray about all things.
There is nothing that is too small for us to pray about. God wants us to rbing all things to Him. He knows our every need before we ask so make sure you ask Him about everything.
If you have a test, pray. If you have a flat tire, pray. If you are excited about something, pray. If someone says something that hurts you, pray. God is concerned about all things so, pray about all things.
Give thanks.
Often, we feel overwhelmed by life’s circumstances because we allow ourselves to focus on what might happen. Instead, when we consider how God has been faithful in the past, we can allow our thought’s to turn to Him and all the things we are thankful for.
Make a list out of all the things you are thankful for, and your worries will melt away. It may take some time to get started but once you start your list will flow and the more things you will be able to list, and the blessings won’t stop!
Peace comes.
It is amazing what can happen when we allow God to be God. Much of our stress and anxiety come from trying to be in control of things we can’t control. When we focus on God and allow Him to do only what he can do we get an amazing sense of peace and security that is only available through Him.
Songs
Trust and Obey
Holy Spirit
Prayer
Lord when I am overwhelmed by life’s circumstances help me remember to always pray first. May prayer and your holy spirit to be my refuge. Fill my mind and heart with true peace that can only come from you.