Prayer

What is prayer?  It may be as simple as sitting somewhere and sharing with God a concern or need that is on your heart or seeking an answer to some questions in your life.  It may be the whisper you offer up as you drive to work or as you wash the morning dishes. Or perhaps it is the fervent heartfelt cry that you belt out in bold faith to the Lord. Praying is defined as "a solemn request for help or an expression of thanks addressed to God or an object of worship." 

We see in Hebrews 4:16 that there are two aspects of prayer; approaching and obtaining;  "Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need." 

·         We can approach God because of Jesus's redemptive work that reconciled us to Him. We are given the right to approach God boldly because He made a way for us to do so and He is inviting us to simply ask.

·         We can obtain what we approach God about when we ask in faith if we ask according to His will and Word. Mark 11:24 says "Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them."   If God promised it in His Word, He already made a way to give it to us and is ready to do it (Jeremiah 1:12), we just have to ask and receive it.

An example of praying in line with the Word for healing could look something like this: "Father, I come to you in the name of Jesus. Your Word says "By Jesus stripes I was healed."  Jesus, you bore this sickness on your body according to Isaiah 53:5 and I appropriate (receive) the atonement, and receive your healing power in my body now." 

Go ahead and be bold and ask for what you need.  He wants to give good gifts to His children, just as a parent wants to give good gifts to their child (Matthew 7:9-10.)