TALKing with God

I spend a lot of time on my knees lately. Three things seem to drive me there:

1. The work of God is done on our knees. Then we get up and go see what happened. The impossible task God has given us to build spiritual movements requires supernatural enabling.2. Satan is a roaring lion, seeking to devour, deceive, and destroy. He loves to go after God’s servants, and especially their children. I feel compelled to stand against him, and the best way to do that is kneeling.3. Increasingly I recognize my own total dependence on God for everything in my life and ministry. Prayer is the way I express that dependence and access God’s provision.The need for and importance of prayer has pushed me also to do a lot more study of prayer—in the Word, in books on prayer, in the lives of prayer warriors through the centuries, and of course in the teachings and life of Jesus.Though there are conditions, approaches and models that imply depth and complexity, at its essence prayer is a conversation with God. With that as a starting point, God gave me a simple acrostic to guide me in my praying: TALK.T—Tell the truth. I need to be honest with God. I need to tell Him my true feelings, desires, fears, etc. He already knows it all, of course, but He desires that I worship Him in spirit and in truth.A—Ask boldly. God invites me to boldly come into His presence and ask for what I need and desire. He says we don’t have because we don’t ask. Of course, He wants me to come in humility, with thanksgiving, in Jesus’ name. But He tells me to ask.L—Listen. He wants to be a part of the conversation. He will speak through His Word, in my worship, with a still, small voice. But be assured—He has something to say if I will listen.K—Keep at it. He exhorts me to keep on asking. Don’t give up. I often wish that weren’t necessary—I feel like giving up way too often. But He seems to have great character-building purposes in persevering prayer.There is so much more to prayer. I’m definitely still learning. Won’t you join me? Let’s get on our knees and talk to our Father.c Judy Douglass  2010