Saturday, October 20, 2012

Spiritual Benefits of Prayer

"But as for me, my prayer is to You, O Lord, in the acceptable time; O God, in the multitude of Your mercy, Hear me in the truth of Your salvation" (Psalm 69:13)

Perhaps your conversations with the Lord begin as bedtime prayers when you were a child. Maybe you learned the Lord's Prayer in Sunday School. Throughout your life, the Bible, your pastor, and Bible teachers have stressed the importance of praying to God.

But how do you really feel about prayer? Is it something you do hurriedly out of obligation, or do you truly enjoy conversing with your heavenly Father many times throughout the day? Discovering the spiritual benefits of prayer may help you to understand the great things that can be accomplished by talking to God:

1.  Prayer deepens our relationship with Jesus Christ. It helps us to understand the character of the loving God we serve.

2.  Prayer purifies our lives. By confessing our sins and leaving them at God's feet, we can be relieved of unnecessary guilt and shame.

3.  Prayer helps us to trust God as our provider. As life's pressures increase, we will anticipate our times of fellowship with Him.

4.  Prayer leads to spiritual growth and maturity. The more time we spend with God, the more equipped we will be to help others and to weather the storms in our own lives.

If you are currently a "dutiful" pray-er, reach out to God in a new way today. Ask Him to show you the joys of being a dedicated prayer warrior.

Lord, I surrender to You my sense of duty in my prayer life, and ask in return that You infuse it with the trust and purity that leads to maturity. Amen

~Charles Stanley~

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