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A Planting of Faith Seeds for the Glory of the LORD
Pray, Pray, and Pray…
“Nowhere does it appear so clearly that it requires the entire man in all departments of his being, to pray than in this teaching of Paul. It takes the whole man to pray till all the storms which agitate his soul are calmed to a great calm, till the stormy winds and waves cease as by a Godlike spell. It takes the whole man to pray till cruel tyrants and unjust rulers are changed in their natures and lives, as well as in their governing qualities, or till they cease to rule. It requires the entire man in praying till high and proud and unspiritual ecclesiastics become gentle, lowly and religious, till godliness and gravity bear rule in Church and in State, in home and in business, in public as well as in private life.” (Chapter 1 “The Essentials of Prayer” by E.M. Bounds, emphasis added. Please look past the gender references.)
What does it mean to pray with the entire person? Elsewhere in the first chapter Bounds made reference to people as being a trinity (mind, body, and spirit). Bounds understood prayer as far surpassing making our needs known to God. Prayer for him included that but he also understood and taught that through prayer we could be present with God. What he was saying in the above quote that to be in the presence of God you need to be there as a “human trinity.”
Many times the bible tells us that Jesus would go off by himself to pray. There are times when circumstances will not allow us to go off by ourselves to be alone with God however, our lives are not that busy (in spite of what we think) that we cannot find a few minutes. While I believe we should not put God in a box however I believe when we are praying we need to and then climb in with him and then following our “amen” open the box and rejoin life letting God have free reign over our lives.
A hymn goes, “Take it to the Lord in prayer,” and that’s what God wants us to do but at the same God longs for us to spend some quality (not just quantity) time with him in prayer. When it comes to prayer the Apostle Paul writes, “Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. Do not stifle the Holy Spirit.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16–19, NLT)
Believe it! Experience it!
Grace and PEACE!
Gary
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“The farmer plants seed by taking God’s word to others… And the seed that fell on good soil represents those who hear and accept God’s word…” (Mark 4:14, 20, NLT
“The farmer plants seed by taking God’s word to others… And the seed that fell on good soil represents those who hear and accept God’s word…” (Mark 4:14, 20, NLT
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“Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.”
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