A Conversation With God

As believers, we all know that we should pray. The question is, do we know why, or how?  In order for us to have an effective prayer life there are a few things that we should have an understanding of. First and foremost, prayer is nothing more than having…

A Conversation With God…

Prayer is not contemplation, or meditation. Prayer is in direct address to Him. It can be oral or mental. It can be occasional or constant. It can be exclamatory or formal. Regardless of what it can be, it is a conversation.

We find Moses “beseeching the Lord” in Exodus 32:11. In 1 Samuel 1:15, we find Hannah telling Eli that she was, “pouring out the soul before the Lord,” when he accused her of being drunk, because she prayed so fervently. Hezekiah and Isaiah were “praying and crying to heaven” in 2 Chronicles 32:20. In Job 8:5, Job was “seeking unto God and making supplication.” David drew near to God in Psalms 73:28 and Paul was “bowing the knees” in prayer in Ephesians 3:14.

Prayer assumes a belief in the personality of God and his ability and willingness to hold a conversation with us. And above all things, prayer is a belief in his personal control of all things. Without this whole hearted belief, what good is our prayer?

Prayer must be Sincere and offered with reverence, Godly fear, a humble sense of our own insignificance and unworthiness. It should be offered with earnest insistence, but also unhesitating submission to His divine will. We must have faith that God is, and is the hearer and answerer of prayer.

One thing that is most certain, is that we can and even should, ask others to pray for us. James 5:16 presents this very idea to us, as God’s children.

“Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”

Our pride sometimes keeps us from doing this, but we have so many examples in God’s word, where people took advantage of it and saw that their prayers were indeed answered. Abraham, prayed for others on several occasions. Moses prayed for The Israelites when they were facing destruction by God and God repented. Moses prayed for Miriam when God struck her with leprosy and God answered his prayer. When Aaron would have been destroyed by God because the Israelites had turned away from God during the exodus, Moses prayed for him and he was offered the opportunity to live and repent.

One particular instance that really stands out to me is when Peter was taken prisoner in Acts 12:5. The church came together and prayed for him, that he would be released, and he was. As a matter of fact, they were still praying for him, when he came to their door, knocked and asked entrance.

In all of these examples, as well as the many more that we could discuss, those offering prayer were doing so with confidence. They were having a conversation with God and God gave them an answer.

There is no doubt that we have the model prayer, in the Lord’s Prayer, that shows us how we should have this conversation, but the bottom line, is that God simply wants us to have a conversation.

If we pray in the right spirit, and with the right frame of mind our prayers will be answered. It may not be what we are expecting, or even what we selfishly want, but we should have the comfort that it is what we need…

“Prayer is like the dove that Noah sent forth, which blessed him not only when it returned with an olive-leaf in its mouth, but when it never returned at all.” Robinson’s Job.

Max Gaskins

Ryker’s Blessing

As most, if not all of you know, I’m a member of an internet society called facebook. Recently we saw a need to ask for the prayers of all of our friends, and friends of friends, for a newborn, Ryker Waller. When Ryker was born, she was bleeding internally. The doctors found a tumor and for five days Ryker fought for her life. This would seem to be a heartbreaking story and one that would cause great despair to those close to Ryker. Surprisingly it did just the opposite. Certainly Dwain and Keeli, as well as their parents, were no doubt saddened by the events that took place, but amazingly (for I personally don’t know if I could have reacted as well as they) they showed great character and were strengthened by the ordeal.

Those five days were amazing days. I saw friends of friends of friends posting on their status updates, the need to pray for Ryker and her family. I was told stories and had personal conversations with individuals that did not have a prayer life, realizing the need for it and began one.

Prayer is Power!

Jas 5:15-16  And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise  him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.  (16)  Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

This verse does a lot of things for us. First of all it gives us comfort. To know  that there is an avenue of fixing problems that does not solely rely on our efforts is a blessing! I say solely, because there is some effort involved, the effort of abasing ourselves  before God Almighty. The effort of putting all of faith and trust in Him. The effort of being faithful. It is the prayer of faith that shall save the sick. In the first chapter of James we are told that if we ask anything of the Lord, we should ask in faith, nothing doubting. If we doubt, we are as the waves of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.

This verse also exhorts us to confess our faults to one another. Confession is good. It allows us to release the weight of guilt and helps us overcome them.  It helps us grow, and allows us to trust one another. Without it, we can turn into bitter and hardened individuals that have no hope of eternal life.

Finally this verse encourages us to be righteous. If we want to be of any value to those that we love (which should be to all) we should endeavor to be righteous individuals. Righteousness is not something that we can just take on and put off at will. It is a way of life and can only be attained through God’s written word.

The Waller family reminded me, that regardless of the circumstances, I can find comfort. The Waller family helped me remember the importance of prayer and casting all of our cares upon Him. I would like to post an open letter that Dwain Waller posted to facebook, after Ryker died. I hope that it touches you and gives you reason to keep struggling through your daily Christian walk.

Ryker Elise Waller-Our Daughter

Mon (Jan 11th, 2009) at 12:05pm

I don’t even know where to begin. First, our daughter Ryker is in heaven smiling down at Keeli and I. She is also smiling down at all of you who have been touched by her. Saying thank you to our family, friends and even total strangers who have offered support does not come close to doing it justice. From the bottom of our hearts I give you all ultimate thanks for your prayers and support. Our daughter who lived 5 days touched more people in her brief life than I have touched my 32 years. She caused people to come together, to pray, and to grow closer to not only one another but to Christ.  Keeli and I are not sad. We are excited and happy!! Ryker changed Keeli and I beyond measure. She became a Mommy and I became a Daddy and that will never change. Our daughter will always be with us. I would like to challenge everyone who offered support and prayers to continue to pray, continue to grow closer to your loved ones, your children, and your friends. Life is so precious and short. Life is fragile, so dont waste time with the crap that brings you down. Love your spouse, love your children, love your family, love your friends!! Let our Ryker always be in your spirit to remind you of these things. May you always remember the impact a small little girl, who was alive for just 5 days had on people all over the world. Do not be sad for Keeli and I, be happy, because we are new parents. Be happy because we just got to spend 5 wonderful days with our daughter. It was five amazing days that we would not trade for anything. In the NICU they say that babies leave as either miracles or angels. Ryker was an exception to this saying. She left as both a miracle and an angel. We are going to have a celebration service sometime in the near future and I would like to invite anyone who was touched by our Ryker to come and celebrate with us. God Bless!!

Max Gaskins