Day 10: Devote Yourself To Prayer

Scripture to Memorize:
She brings him good, not harm,
all the days of her life.
She selects wool and flax
and works with eager hands.
Proverbs 31:12-13
Passage to Read:
And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess you sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and half years.
James 5:15-17
Prayer
Dear Lord, I admit that at timkes my prayers are not always offered in faith. Sometimes they are rushed and couched in doubt. They are also offered as a last resort when every thing else that I have tried has failed. I often turn to you last instead of first. Many times in times of despair or sickness I turn this world's answer instead of turning to you and seeking your guidance and healing.
Thank you for promising to hear my prayers and raising up those who are sick. Help me not only interceed for others but also seek your help in my own healing. Tonight Lord I ask your healing for all who battle sickness and problems that sicken the soul. Send your healing to our world today as you did when Jesus and the first disciples walk the earth.
I confess my sins so that nothing will stand in the way of my prayers today. Forgive me Lord, particularly of my tendency to get so caught up in the things of this world that I rush through my prayers to you. Help me to be more consistent in my prayers for others.
Thank you for the assurance that the prayers of a righteous person is powerful and effective. Help me remember this promise. Remind me that it is through the sacrifices of my savior Jesus that I and others who believe can ask and believe that you not hear but will answer our prayers. Help me to realize that your answer may not be the one I wanted but to remember that you have only good for me and you know what is best.
Lord I thank you for you awesome love and the fact that you are faith and just to keep your promises. Give me the faith of a mustard seed so that my prayers can be made with the conviction that you will answer with the very best answer. Help me to remain faithful even when I don't understand or can't see your answer. Holy Spirit cleanse me so that with Christ's righteousness on me, I can pray with great power and effectiveness. In the mighty name of Jesus, Amen.
Personal:
At the opening of this section Donna offered these quotes regarding prayer. "When we work, we work. But when we pray, God works." (source unknown) The other was a quote from the revival preacher Leonard Ravenhill who said "No Christian is greater than his prayer life". She then went on to challenge the reader to tithe their time in prayer which equals approximately 2 1/2 hours every day. She then states that when prayer becomes as natural as breathing, we will soon discover that you can pray without ceasing.
According to Donna prayer is not just something we do but a mindset, an attitude, an atmosphere we create.
In today's segment Donna talked about some different types of prayer and times to pray.
1. Begin your day with prayer asking God what his priorities are for your day.
2. Watchful prayers thoughout the day as a result of continued watching and an attitude of gratitude for opportunities he sends thoughout the day for us to pray.
3. God-prompted prayers which she said can get the most dramatic and immediate results. God-prompted prayers are those that clearly come from God calling to our mind something or someone in need of prayer.
She also stated that the purpose of prayer is to bring heaven's power to bear on earth's circumstances. She also again reminded me that I need to also listen during my morning prayer time and throughout the day. She suggests as have other authors that I keep a small notebook or journal along with a pen/pencil with my Bible in my prayer space to jot down those things that I sense God saying to me. Two most meaningful things to me that she said was that (1) my prayers need to be a two-way conversation and not a one-sided approach, a glorified gripe session. (2) That prayer can be the ultimate adventure. I have never considered the idea that my prayer life could be an adventure.
I guess that I need to follow her suggestion of asking the Holy Spirit to teach me how to be prayerful, watchful, and thankful. I do want to be a woman who makes a difference in the lives of other people, to bring about much good in the world.
Affirmation: I devote myself to prayer, being watchful and thankful.
Practical:
I don't have the notebook she suggests but I have a journal. At one time I also had a prayer journal in which I actually wrote down prayers. It was modeled after Beth Moore's "Whisper of Hope". I have dug it back out and I made a commitment to myself to begin journaling a daily prayer. The first one in this new section is a prayer of thanksgiving that none of my friends homes or persons were seriously damaged in today tornado that went through our area.