Praise and thanksgiving is the first response to God’s Character. Everything about God, His perence, His holiness, His Power, His Mercy and mostly His Steadfast Enduring LOVE!

“Can anyone measure the magnificence of Yahweh the great, and His inexpressible grandeur?” (Psalm 145:3 Jerusalem Bible)
“what can I render to the LORD (YWHW) for all His benefits to me?… I will offer to You the sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the Name of the LORD.”(Psalm 116:12,17 ESV)

Under the Law of Moses there was a particular offering for Thanksgiving, but under Christ this was abolished. But in our prayer we offer God our thanksgiving daily for we acknowledge that His sacrifice was the greatest gift we have received from God. AS great as God is, He thought it not unworthy to give up all to become man, live and die for us and reconcile us to Himself. (Philippians 2) “For in Him (Jesus) all the fullness of God (Adoni)was pleased to dwell, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of His cross.” (Colossians 1:19,20 ESV)

IN prayer we confess His Holiness and proclaim His Glory, we also confess our lack of holiness, all our sins and misgivings. IN prayer we Praise Him, we Glorify Him We offer thanksgiving and we then call upon Him to intercede for us and for the needs of others.

“Have mercy upon me , O God
according to your steadfast love
according to your abundant mercy,
blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin!” (Psalm 51:1,2 ESV)

In prayer we see the graciousness of God, His Mercy and Holiness, His immense love for us, and for all His people. We also respond to His Power and Wisdom. For without God we are nothing, we would not be and nothing we do can be of significance at all. At yet in spite of it, we can come to him with our requests and He will respond with loving kindness.

This is the nature, the Character of Go, that He would care. And this is why we prayer.

“THEREFORE I SAY TO YOU, ALL THINGS WHICH YOU PRAY AND ASK, BELIEVE THAT YOU HAVE RECEIVED THEM, AND THEY SHALL BE GRANTED TO YOU.” (Mark 11:24 NAS)

Prayer is our response to God’s Grace. As you read the bible, you find that those who are close to God, respond to Him through prayer a lot. David, Abraham, Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, ALL prayed and God answered. And through Christ, God answers us. maybe not as obvious as He did to the prophets and others of the Bible, but still He answers us. In life’s situations, and in times of great joy as well as sorrow, God hears us and provides answers. Not as quickly as we like sometimes and maybe not in the manner of our choosing, bur every prayer is answered.

While we have a tendency to say to God, “Let Your will be my will.” We often mean, “DO my will God, for I know what is best for me.” What we must learn and live by is that God Never does our will, He dose what is best for us in the long run, what is best for our soul. Prayer is not an attempt to move God to our side, but a effort to move us closer to God’s side. It is an effort to see God’s purpose, His heart and His Grace in every circumstance. I tis the effort to discover HIS will, over our desires. Prayer is the communication with God to see His point of view and how He wants to move us there to He an find pleasure in us and from us and for us.

So lose the “Self” in prayer and seek the call to respond to God.

Meditating all day on Your Law,
how I have come to love it!
By Your Commandment, ever mine,
how much wiser You have made me than my enemies!” (Psalm 119:97,98 Jerusalem bible)

There are five things to do when involving yourself with the Word of God, all of which are tools to a good prayer life. 1) Hear the Word – Be in a church that shares the scriptures. Listen to scriptures on tapes CDs or other audio methods. 2) Read the Word. The Bible is not a “coffee table book”, it is to be read daily. If you are listening to a CD, follow along in the same translation. When the pastor or litanies are read in church, and it is on the screen, read it as you listen. 3. Study what you have read or what was read to you. Don’t rely on only one commentary, but have two to study from or research scriptures on the internet. Not that any are wrong, but using more sources, builds knowledge of other’s views and understanding. 4) Memorize what you can. Frankly, the KJV is a poor translation in today’s English speaking countries, but it is still the easiest to memorize simply because of it poetic prose. But whatever you favorite translation is, memorize all you can. And 5) MEDITAE on the understanding you gather from the Word of God. Allow the Holy Spirit to build character in you.

Meditation is foremost when using scripture in your prayer life. It allows God to personalize His Word for your circumstances. When you are meditating, you are allowing the Holy Spirit to start a prayer relationship with you. Often, while meditating, you find yourself asking questions of God, and in your mind, you receive answers. God gives you explanations, understandings and even an action plan regarding His Word. Meditation is quality time with God, so “lock yourself away” with His Word and spend time alone with God.

“Open my eyes that I may behold wonderful things from Your Law.” Psalm 119:18 (NAS)
“Be the helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will .send in My Name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.” John 14:26 (NAS)

There are many daily reading plans out there to make it possible to read the entire bible in one year. But it should not be that hard. If you just spend time each day reading Psalms, a chapter of the Gospel, part of one of the epistles, and some of the Old Covenant, then you will see growth in your prayer life.
It is suggested by many that you keep a log, or journal of what you read and what impact it had on you. Keep a prayer bible, on that you can mark up and make margin notes in. In fact, it is a good idea to have at least three different translations if you can. It is easy in English speaking countries because there are so many translations and interpretations available.

Look for Truths about God, Father son and Holy Spirit. Seek for instructions about others and your relationship with them. Search for facts concerning your life and what would make your life more pleasing to God. Look for the commandments of God that would change who you are in relationship to Him, seek out the errors, the complaints and sins in your life that you must deal with. Most of all look to how your can improve your relationship[ with Christ and the Father.

It is important to be ready to pray while reading the Word. Be prepared to put the bible down and start praying. some Scriptures will entice you to praise God, others will encourage you to seek more wisdom, some we recall things to be thankful for and others to call you to obedience and contrition. While you may set a certain amount of time each day to study, meditate and reflect on the word, allow extra time for god to speak to your heart and talk to Him about it. What is also important is to be where you do not have distractions

A quick note: When you set a time aside to pray, always have your bible handy. Reading scripture, particularly Psalms, will help you clear your mind of distractions and give you a guide in your prayer.

“Create in me a clean heart, o God,
and renew in me a new spirit.” (Psalm 51:10

Prayer is the food of the soul, it brings us closer to God. It makes us more capable of loving God, for it is easier to love someone you talk with daily. and while we can not hear the word of God per se, with the scriptures we can read of His mighty Love and compassion for us. Much of the ‘rules of life” are contained in the New Testament. Many of the lessons of life are found in the tragedies of the Old Testament. Psalms and Proverbs give us wisdom for our prayers. The Scriptures feed us God’s Love but it is through prayer, we are nourished, the food put into our souls.
Guides to effective prayer include meditation on the Word, a time set aside (if possible) to just reflect on God’s goodness and His might. Even taking short walks before praying can benefit the mind and refresh the body so prayer can be said more alertly. The main ting is to have the mind free from distractions. Even in church settings, free your mind from other things going on. That is easily done by closing your eyes but that is not essential.
Daily reading, meditation and quiet time with listening to what the Word says is the foremost benefit to effective prayer. If you can, use a daily planner to set a time to read scriptures and write down your thoughts on what you have read. George Muller said, ” How different when the soul is refreshed and made happy early in the morning, from what it is when, without spiritual preparation, the service, the trials, and the temptations of the day come upon us.” Scriptures, meditation and reflection… make happy (blessed) the soul. prepare yourself for prayer.

As an introduction to prayer, I thought it best to say that there is no right or wrong way to pray. This study is an ongoing guide in the purpose, guide, and benefits of prayer. It will use scripture as a tool of prayer in your preparation to talk with God. Much as a child learns to communicate with her or his parents, but example of others talking with them and listening, I propose to share with you the lessons I have learned over the years.

But the primary thing is prayer is talking face to face, heart to heart with God. Whether you use formal prayers, litanies, tears, moans and groans, or just talking as one friend to another, it is communication with God. This opening lesson it to show the basics of a prayer life. Nothing more! So take a deep breath, and relax, I won’t cause you to become riled if I can help it.

That from the beginning, which we heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon an have touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life, ….that we have seen an heard we proclaim also to you so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship with the Father and with His son Jesus Christ.” (1 John 1:1,3 ESV)

God made us to have fellowship with Him through Jesus Christ. From the beginning, it was God’s desire to communicate and commune (live) with man, His greatest creation.

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. …. By this we know that abide in Him and He in us because he has given us His spirit.” John 4: 7,13 ESV)

We cannot love or trust God without knowing who He is and being in a prayer relationship, communicating with Him. God made us to love, and to love truly, we must know Him. We learn to know His heart for us through prayer.

There are many reasons to pray, to commune with Christ and the Father. We can’t do the will of God without knowing what it is, we can not grow in the Spirit without seeking it and learning of God’s Spirit, we can not follow his Commandments unless we understand His will. With a solid and valued prayer life, we stay close to God. the plan of this lesson which is ongoing, is to give you the tools to develop your own prayer life. To be able to use Scriptures and the prayers of others to create a style of prayer for yourself that reflects your Love of God and your desire to communicate with Him en every situation, good, bad, or otherwise. Prayer and the Bible (Scripture) are the two lines of communication God has with us. We speak to Him with prayer, He speaks to us with Scripture. So in this lesson, every lesson, there will be scripture to support and to encourage you in your growth. Remember, even if I use prayers of other people or tradition “church” prayers, it is only to show you