Study in Prayer – January 24 – The Place of Prayer
Scripture of the Day:
Isaiah 37:14
“Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the Temple of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord.”
The Place of Prayer
Where is your place where you go to pray to the Lord? Go ahead and answer…I’ll wait….
Where do you pray to the Lord?
Some people will say, “In my prayer closet.” Or “In my bedroom” or wherever…
But those answers would be wrong. Maybe not wrong wrong, but let’s just say INCOMPLETE.
What do I mean by that?
1 Thesslonians 5:17, our theme verse for this year, says “Keep praying continually.” That means, at all times, in all situations, in all places. Notice that – at all times, in all situations and in all places.
I told the story of Smith Wigglesworth, a mighty man of God, where someone asked him, “How long do you usually pray?” He responded, “I don’t pray more than 10 or 15 minutes.” That amazed the person who asked, but then Smith added, “But I rarely go more than 10 or 15 minutes without praying.”
AMEN!
Did you get that?
That does not mean that every 10 minutes or so, Smith Wigglesworth would drop to his knees in the middle of the street, blocking traffic and making a spectacle of himself while calling out to God. No. That is not what he meant and that is not the way we are to pray…
What Smith Wigglesworth was trying to say, is that he would pray about EVERYTHING! And he would seek the Lord’s guidance in every decision he would make during the day.
For example, now, I TRY to do this…but even Brother Bob is still in the developing process…OK. But, I’ve gone into my dressing room to get ready to go preach at a church service or conference and I have to choose which suit I should wear. What shirt I should wear with the suit. What color tie to wear. These are all things that Smith Wigglesworth is referring to.
PRAYING and ASKING for guidance in all things.
You may be at the grocery store buying supplies for dinner that night. You went in there with a few things in mind, but then you see something else is on sale. You think, “Hmm. Maybe this would be a better dinner tonight..”
What you are really asking is, “Will my family appreciate this for dinner tonight?”
Well, what you SHOULD DO, is PRAY in that situation. “God, should I fix this for dinner tonight?”
“Brother Bob, come on! God is far too busy answering real prayer requests to bother with what I should fix for dinner…”
Really? You think God is not interested in what you put inside your body? Do you think God is not interested in what you are putting into the body of your kids? Or your spouse?
If you are like my wife – she take special interest in what goes into my body! Amen! That’s why I’ve lost 65 pounds in the past two years. Glory to God.
But if my wife cares that much about me – what makes you think God is not even more interested in what goes into my body!
So, that is just one example. But you should do that in the route you take to work or on the way home. You should do it with all things, every decision you make during the day. Small things. Insignificant things.
That does not mean you do not make any decisions unless you “hear” from God. Because if that is the case, the devil will try to insert himself into the equation. One way you could do that, using the example of the suit I was using earlier…would be, “God, I think I’ll wear the blue suit, with the purple shirt and white tie tonight. What do you think?”
And, as I’m starting to prepare those things, my wife may walk in and say, “No, wear the tan shirt tonight.” If I had not called her into the room, she just “felt the need to walk in at that moment” – can you say that God did not put it on her heart to walk in at that exact moment?
That is the type of thing I’m talking about. Amen!
But, if you do not get into the habit of asking – then you will never develop the habit of LISTENING for God’s answer. Amen!
I want to pray for you right now… I want to pray for you to develop a sensitive spirit in seeking God’s advice in response to your daily tasks. “Should I add some extra salt to this dish?” Should I do this? Should I do that?” Type of thing…
Until next time, this is Pastor Bob Thibodeau reminding you from 1 Thessalonians 5:17 in the Living Bible to “Always Keep on Praying!” Be blessed in all that you do!
Please subscribe to this podcast, leave us a quick 5 star review on Apple Podcasts to help us grow and be sure to visit our website for more information on our ministry: https://podcastersforchrist.com. And while you are at the website, download the free resource I have for you… it is free and is called, Podcasting for Christians. It will bless you – go and download it today.
You can also WATCH these session on our Facebook Playlist at this link: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtKWeKtmv-BwgkquBTsSh-GznbmuUp_R2