Hi BrianPaul.
Wanted to share a little with you about prayer, although I am just a novice, I am learning praise God and look to him for great things.
I was about 15 when someone gave me 6 Ravenhill tapes. They deeply stirred my heart and introduced me to the whole subject of revival.
I had a desire to pray and read God's word..... but I lacked any sort of discipline or attention span...... I had grown up on nintendo and it's instant feedback.
I told my mother that I had a desire... but there seemed no hunger or resolve to pray ( she told me to just get started with a little, and the hunger would come). She was right.
I began with about either 3 or 5 minutes of prayer and bible study the 1st day...... and it was hard.
But i consistently did this for a while, and then began to slowly increase, in a matter of months I continued until I was praying for about an hour, and reading God's word for an hour, I never thought that possilbe.
I began to have times of heavenly joy where I would jump up and down and shout praises that God had saved me, also there was depths of peace and times I sat in incredible still before God. Many times were just 'normal' nothing happened out of the ordinary and my emotions were not stirred, sometimes it was more difficult but I knew it was worth it.
My heart to see people converted grew, I started fasting, saw prayer answered, my personality began to change, I received the gift of tongues one night.....also there is times i prayed for over 2 hours and it felt like 15 minutes. Scripture became clearer, and power over temptation that ensnared me lost its grip. Oh the precious Grace of God, Jesus seemed to be my best friend!
I don't want to make it sound like it was all ice cream and cake, there were many trials, and most of the time I didn't feel like praying.
As I went off to college, my discipline in prayer began to slip, I was busy, and lived a little off of previous victories. I was still praying but sometimes I would miss days, and i knew I was not praying in the capacity that God by his grace had allowed me to move into.
Then I began to get these weird thoughts that would come across my mind "God is not alive, heaven does not exists". and shivers down my spines. I asked my mentor what was happening, he told me that he believed the Lord was telling him that there was demonic strongholds out at the university ( and most universities) and the enemy was attacking my faith.
I prayed about it and the Lord encouraged me keep my heart and mind in scriptures and in his presence, and the Lord would protect me against such evil thoughts.
I have began to pray and read the word of God again with new fervor, seeking intimacy with my best friend.
I have found that the two greatest difficulties for me are ...
the desire of pleasing flesh.... prayer does not please the flesh, it is mostly secretive and you receive little earthly glory. I am a person like many who like to get instant feedback.... instance pleasure, movies, t.v, sports do this. Prayer can be difficult because it takes time, patience, longsuffering..... it's rewards are eternal. Sometimes their is instant response, also times of great emotional joy. Other times their is times of slience and patience.... and my flesh getting no instant feedback kicks against this.
2nd is unbelief. If the flesh doesn't get you, unbelief will come in hard. Our carnal mind combined with the enemies lies come under attack, satan tells us that we are wasting our time... that God will not answer.. blah blah blah satan.
Wonderfully God has given us the ability in Him to overcomes.
1. The word of God. There is so many promises to God answering prayer... also there is many other promises we need to pray through.
just some verses paraphrased of the top of my head that have been greatly encouraging
"Draw near to me, and I will draw near to you"
"if you come to God you must believe that God is, and that He is a rewarded of those who diligently seek him"
"the parable of the persistent widow.."
"The Father who gives better gifts then an earthly father"
"Ask, seek ,knock, receive, find, open"
etc...."Elijah was a man of like passions (this refers to how he had temptations to pray or get distracted with the flesh like us) yet he prayed" Ravenhil loves that one.... and they go on and on.
2. Biographies and books on prayer. Andrew Murray's book on the believers prayer book was awesome. After reading it I repented of the sin of prayerlessness (something hardly ever preached on). And laid myself before God asking him to help me pray... in His power.
3. God gave me a prayer partner, and older man who loved to pray. Even when my own devotional times wain....... I have scheduled times with him to pray.
Anyways I am so excited about prayer right now!! God is able to above what we can ask or think.... exceeding aboundantly beyond! That is just a little of my life and where i am at right now. I didn't even have time to write the half of it.
But go on seeking the Lord Brother. Many,many,many people talk about the praying, and its power....... few, few, few people lay themselves before God and ask for the power to deny the pleasures of the flesh and seek the invisible one whom they Love. It comes at a great price, especially living in this modern day babylon of america, this country that is driven by the need for instant pleasure...... but the rewards are well worth it. But you know as I do that in the words of Ravenhill..... and experience of God that costs nothing, is worth nothing and does nothing.
in Christ's school of learning
dt
