Some thoughts on prayer

In our prayers, we often try to use God as some kind of heavenly vending machine, and we demand quick fulfillment of our prayer requests—or perhaps we should call them “prayer orders”!

When we pray in that way, we grow restless and upset if we don’t get the desired results. Our grumbling against God really does not hurt him, but we hurt ourselves spiritually when we grumble and complain.

Proper prayer is rooted in our relationship with God the Father and in our attitudes toward the people around us.

The Scriptures don’t say that all prayers will be fulfilled. We will not always get exactly what we want when we want when we put a dollar in the “prayer vending machine.”  But we are promised the all-embracing peace of God, and that what we receive (or don’t receive) will be in our best interest.

What’s down in the well comes up in the bucket

When we have the Scriptures wrapped around our brains like a helmet—especially through Scripture memory and meditation—our minds become filled with God’s Word. It saturates our thoughts. As we fall asleep thinking on His promises and wake up with Him on our minds, it changes the patterns of our brains. We discover that we often have a word of encouragement for someone else. If we continually fill our minds with the knowledge of Christ, He will bring the needed words to mind in every situation.

Our Mental Grid

All of us have a sort of grid around our minds. It’s made up of the principles we were taught as children, the habits we’ve formed, and the information we accept as true. New knowledge coming our way passes through that grid and is either assimilated or rejected.  A mental grid plastered with biblical truth is essential for Christians, because it identifies and rejects whatever is sinful, poorly timed, or simply not fit for God’s children.—Charles Stanley

PRESCRIPTION FOR DEALING WITH DIFFICULT CIRCUMSTANCES

How to deal with difficult circumstances:
Respond in faith.
Rely on God's strength.
Fight the battle mentally before you step onto the battlefield.
Reaffirm that the battle is not yours, but God's.
Reckon the victory even before you see it coming.
Wait for God's timing.