Voice of Thanksgiving

Open the door and come in. There are few things as awesome as an open door. It is exciting to contemplate the possibilities that lie behind a door and to go through it, is to enter a new world. Listen to Paul’s excitement about an open door. As much as he longed to come to Corinth, and although there were adversaries, he chooses to tarry in Ephesus because of an open door.

For a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.

1 Corinthians 16:9 (NKJV)

By contrast a closed door ends possibilities. A closed door is a stoppage, a statement of stop, a do not go through, to all who dace the door. However, sometimes God also uses the closed door as a tool for leading and guiding. For example, Paul was not permitted to travel into some areas. Sometimes God uses things like a closed door to direct our steps to an open door.

Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia. After they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit did not permit them. So passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. A man of Macedonia stood and pleaded with him, saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” Now after he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them.

Acts 16:6-10 (NKJV)

Another time God used the closed door, He used closed doors to take Joseph to the open door. His brothers sold him into slavery; this appeared to be the door slamming shut on all his dreams of greatness. But God, that is one of the great phrases of Christian life, and with your permission I will say it again. But God had a very special open door in mind for young Joseph. Through many trials and tribulations God brought Joseph to the open door, making him second in command over all of Egypt.

Often people look for open doors by “trying every door”. They do not wait for a door to open, but actively check doors. They try every door, if it is open go through, if it is closed go to the next one. Active pursuit of God’s plan and directions is valuable. Would the vision of God have come to Paul if he had not been actively pursuing his call? Would he have recognized where to go, if he had still been in Antioch?

The call to effective prayer also includes praying for opening doors. Notice they are called “doors” not walls. Doors are made to open. Yes, they close and some even have locks, but if it is a door, it can be opened. When God opens doors they are open.

I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name.

Revelation 3:8 (NKJV)

Startling to many people is Gods plan for prayer. The Creator of the universe, the God who made man and woman, also invented prayer. He now calls on us to pray. This is so startling and it is difficult to fathom its import. Prayer is designed to be powerful and effective. One part of prayer is opening doors. It is not enough to just go where the doors are open. There are too many places, too many doors that have been closed by the world or our enemy, and God has called you and me to pray these doors open.

If we will pray, we can open doors for the Gospel. Will you pray? The people lost behind closed doors are desperate for you to pray. Are you desperate enough to pray for them? Will you be vigilant in prayer, praying until doors are open and praying until the Gospel has been taken to a place that had been lost behind closed doors? Will you pray for open doors?

Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving; meanwhile praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in chains, that I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak.

Colossians 4:2-4 (NKJV)

Now when they had come and gathered the church together, they reported all that God had done with them, and that He had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.

Acts 14:27 (NKJV)

Furthermore, when I came to Troas to preach Christ’s gospel, and a door was opened to me by the Lord,

2 Corinthians 2:12 (NKJV)

There are battles that rage within the heart of man. The flesh longs to rule and reign over man. Doubt screams out, attempting to overcome. Fear comes, darkness so dense, men’s hearts are overwhelmed and fail. Unbelief robs men of life. The body racked with pain, the mind dimmed by doubt, the heart failing from fear, robbed of life, often it is so bad a man cannot live, work, or pray.

Fear and the pit and the snare are upon you, O inhabitant of the earth. And it shall be that he who flees from the noise of the fear Shall fall into the pit, and he who comes up from the midst of the pit Shall be caught in the snare; for the windows from on high are open, And the foundations of the earth are shaken. Isaiah 24:17-18 (NKJV)

The Devil comes to steal, kill, and destroy. He wants to make life painful, sad, and empty. However, Jesus has come to destroy the work of Devil.

He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. 1 John 3:8 (NKJV)

Do you believe Jesus has done that for which He was manifest? Do you believe He destroyed the works of the devil? Do you? Are confident that He has done His work? Confidence is defined in the dictionary as, “Faith or trust such as in God’s mercy, opens the door for salvation, deliverance, healing, and fullness of life”. Jesus destroyed everything that would separate us from the love of God and the abundant life He has for us. This confidence opens the doors for effective prayer.

Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 1 John 5:14 (NKJV)

Prayer demands a confidence. In prayer we speak to God in faith and trust. Prayer demands faith in God. Prayer demands trust in God.

But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Hebrews 11:6 (NKJV)

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11 (NKJV)

Where will you place your confidence? In whom will you place your faith? In whom will you trust?

Do not trust in a friend; Do not put your confidence in a companion; Guard the doors of your mouth from her who lies in your bosom. Micah 7:5 (NKJV)

It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes. Psalm 118:8-9 (NKJV)

We know He is willing and able to meet our confidence with answers to prayer. There is no question concerning His great reward. With confidence in God, we can pray. With confidence in Him, we have faith and trust to come boldly before His throne and seek His help and to be effective in prayer.

Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. Hebrews 10:35 (NKJV)

By awesome deeds in righteousness You will answer us, O God of our salvation, You who are the confidence of all the ends of the earth, And of the far-off seas; Psalm 65:5 (NKJV)

Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 1 John 5:14 (NKJV)

And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.” Luke 22:31-32 (NKJV)

Jesus prayed for Peter and Peter’s faith did not fail; he strengthened and he became an important leader of the early church. Peter went from notable failure to great success because of the prayers of Jesus. There is a direct tie between prayer and success. If we were interested in success we will pray and we should follow the example of Jesus and pray for other people.

You do pray for people? Well of course you do. Everyone prays for someone. Some form of “Bless Aunt Marge,” prayers are about the most common type of prayer, other than prayer just before a test in school. The question is still valid and important because there is much more to prayer that just the simple bless so and so prayers.

Man is designed, in both the physical and spiritual realms, to respond to stimuli. The physical senses are well known, they affect us constantly, it is hot or cold, the music is loud or soft, the perfume smells good or bad, the paper is smooth or rough. We often respond without thinking, we slip on a sweater, we shade our eyes, we drink some water, and we scratch an itch. This is how we are made, made to respond. We all have had those special moments when we are moved by the message, the story, the scene, or an event. Tears and emotion well up from within and even the “tough” guy among us is moved. This is one of the reasons we love movies, we want to be affected; to be emotionally moved.

The world and our flesh affect the way we live, work and play, but prayer can do more. There is pressure on people, pressure to succeed, to get rich, to marry well, and to advance and a myriad of other pressures. Pressure can work to bring out the best in us, but most pressures have a negative effect. Pressure brought by prayer can be a great positive, those skilled in prayer, those willing to work at prayer; can put more pressure on people than anything brought by the world or the flesh. What do I mean, pressure? Prayer can bring people to the place, where it is easier to yield to the Holy Spirit, than it is to resist any longer.

By the lead of the Holy Spirit, we can pray for people and pray in faith, confident that God is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all we hope or imagine. Not, “wouldn’t it be nice for John to get saved?” but, responding to direction of the Holy Spirit, prayer in faith. Prayer that knows John will respond to the Holy Spirit. This is not wistful praying, but prayer that will stand in the gap for a person, pressing in, until the answer comes. This is prayer of power, power that works in us.

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21 (NKJV)

Do you pray for people? Can the Holy Spirit count on you for this type of assignment? Have you studied in the school of the Holy Spirit, until He can speak to you specifics for prayer? Have you labored in training, by the Spirit, until you are “fit for the Master’s use?” Have you been schooled by the Father, in the school of obedience, until you are ready for His assignment? Many people talk about prayer, but most will not study, trained, nor go to school. For them prayer is just prayer, but God is looking for a few who will pray.

To be successful in prayer we need confidence, but there are many things that try to hinder our confidence of coming before God with our requests. The Pharisees could come before God with confidence, because their confidence was in man, but their prayers failed. They believed they were God’s chosen people and thus had great confidence in themselves. They were convinced they were better than others were and so their prayers would direct God’s hand.

They were so confident in themselves that they question Jesus and His prayers, because He was not one of them. They concluded Jesus must have been doing the miraculous by the Devils power because it could not be in answer to prayer. There self-righteousness, their confidence in man, separated them from knowing and hearing God. Their prayers were like the prayers of one of the two men who prayed at the temple.

Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men–extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Luke 18:9-14 (NKJV)

The Pharisees had great self confidence and the Pharisee of today still has great confidence. He is convinced he is righteous, yet his prayers avail nothing.

The scriptures make it clear we are to come in prayer with confidence. How can we deal with this seeming contradiction? The answer is in whom we have confidence. Confidence in man will always disappoint and always fails in prayer. Confidence in God will always succeed. The Jew’s mistake was to have confidence in self because God had chosen them as His people. They then looked to self instead of to God having confidence in the God who chose them.

We run the same risk today. We fail in prayer because of who we are as men. We are this and that confident in what we are. Too often we have become the new form of Pharisee, standing boldly before God demanding His blessings and answer to our prayers, based on what we are. Our prayer regardless of the words is, “God, I thank you that I am not like all other men” We leave the prayer closet (often the prayer closet with the large windows so everyone can see us in prayer) having justified ourselves. Our prayers fail to leave the closet because we have separated ourselves from God.

In Christ we can come as the other man did, not looking up, beating his breast, saying, “God have mercy on me a sinner.” In Christ, we have access, by the grace and mercy of God. In Christ, we have boldness, not of who we are, but who He is. Our confidence is in Him. Now, by the work of Jesus, we can come boldly, in confidence, knowing God delights to meet with us, to hear from us, and to answer our prayer. His delight is in those who come not as the Pharisee with boldness of self, but with the meekness of the tax collector.

Some have misunderstood this; they claim we must come to God crawling on our knees. That way there can be no boldness of confidence, but this quickly becomes the same as the Pharisee; only now are bold because we are so meek. We come before God in the strength of the meekness, the suffering of our self-denial, but now this is our confidence.

Once again, this is misplaced confidence. Any confidence in what we have done, fails to bring us to God. It fails to bring answers; we cast aside God and our need for Him. In Christ Jesus and Him alone may we be confident. There is no there way.

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. John 14:6 (NKJV)

A requirement for prayer is to come with confidence to God. With confidence, we make our requests know to Him. However, any confidence other than in Christ Jesus hinders our prayers. With confidence in God, we can pray. With confidence in Him, we have faith and trust to come boldly before His throne and seek His help.

Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. Hebrews 10:35 (NKJV)

By awesome deeds in righteousness You will answer us, O God of our salvation, You who are the confidence of all the ends of the earth, And of the far-off seas;

Psalm 65:5 (NKJV)

Prayer is surprising, which should not be surprising, after all prayer is asking of God and He is very special. He is more good, more wise, more understanding, more knowledgeable, and more powerful than we think or imagine. No wonder there are surprises as He reveals to us chapter-by-chapter His nature and plans.

One place people are surprised by prayer is confidence. Confidence and prayer work together. There is an awe-filled separation between man and God. In the desert the Jews drew back from God at the mountain asking Moses to talk to God in their stead. And Queen Esther had to intercede for the Jews before King Xerxes. She knew speaking without His expressed invite could cost her life.

This is the fear and hesitancy that man faces when speaking to a king and more so when speaking to God. Yes, I admit that people are flippant and do not revere Him as they should, but even the most hardened man, when he realizes to whom he is speaking, is broken and afraid before God.

At the same time there is a call to boldness. It is with confidence we come to God.

Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 1 John 5:14 (NKJV)

Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16 (NKJV)

Often confidence is broken or shaken. This keeps us from prayer. This keeps us from Him. Many things separate us from confidence. Confidence is faith and trust in God. Doubt, fear, and sin come to rob us of our confidence.

Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end, while it is said: “Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.” Hebrews 3:12-15 (NKJV)

His solution to broken confidence, “Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.” We must not let doubt, fear, and sin rob us of our confidence. We exhort one another daily against departing from the living God. “Just a closer walk with Thee”, is not just a line from an old song, but the command for all who would keep from hardened heart rebellion. If we long to pray and see God move in response to our prayers, we must pray with confidence.

Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. For I say to you that none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper.

Luke 14:24 (NKJV)

And compel them to come in. Men have used “compel them to come in” to justify compulsion by the sword. The death and destruction that has followed has been ghastly. It is a “black eye” for the Christian faith, one of the worst in our history. To force men, women and nations into conversion by the sword is disgusting. To justify these deeds by this verse is appalling. These words have been abused more times than any of us would like to admit, but we still must return to them as they reveal much about the heart of the Father. Many people now just avoid this verse, the pall over it too much to confront. But we miss an important facet of God’s nature, of His love, if we skip the story of these verses. Read what C. S. Lewis has written about the true nature of the word compel.

The words compel as in compel them to come in, have been so abused by wicked men that we shudder at them; but, properly understood, they plumb the depth of the Divine mercy.  The hardness of God is kinder than the softness of men, and His compulsion is our liberation.

From Surprised by Joy by C.S. Lewis

The Divine mercy is so wide that we can scarce fathom even its surface, not to mention looking into its depth. God is love and He has gone to great lengths to share Himself with His children. But men and women are rebels by nature. Not interested in seeking His love, we must be given help to find Him. Without help we flounder in sin, separated from Him. God has made provision to help us.

An example of His provision, bridging the gap between the rebel and Divine mercy, is the Law. The Law is not harsh or bad; it is a God given tool. Paul calls it the schoolmaster. It draws men and women to God’s mercy. Rebels see the cross as foolishness. Before a person gets saved he or she is less likely to seek God than a little boy is to seek a bath. So the Law is God’s tool to overcome this resistance. It is Divine mercy that prepared something so powerful to reach you and me. God’s nature will not let men and women just drift along to Hell. He loves so deeply He compels people to enter in His provision.

The Law is God’s tool for compelling men and women to come into His salvation. Other tools He uses include His goodness and the design of creation. All of these are used to bring individuals to the saving grace of God.

Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?

Romans 2:4 (NKJV)

For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,

Romans 1:20 (NKJV)

God compels men and women in other areas of life as well. He compels us to pray and not just to pray although that is where He begins; He compels men and women to abide in prayer and to learn to be effective in prayer.

Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart

Luke 18:1 (NKJV)

I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting;

1 Tim. 2:8 (NKJV)

He has tools to bring us to prayer, to compel us, and then to take us further along in prayer. He calls first to begin to pray, “Men always ought to pray”. Then He works to take us further along in prayer. From the old prayer, “God bless me, my wife, my son and daughter, us four and no more”, to praying for others, prayer for the church, prayer for labors in the harvest fields, to abiding in prayer. His nature is to compel us to come in. Day-by-day He is bring us, no compels us to come in to more of the prayer life He has prepared for us.

People often struggle in dealing with being near to God In prayer, dealing with near and far is a key concern and one we must deal with, if we are going to be effective. It is easy to allow prayer to become prayer from afar. We speak the words, but they fall to the ground unheard, unanswered, because they are said from afar. In the realm of sin, separation from God is preparation for sin; in the realm of prayer, separation from God is preparation for empty ritual, not effective prayer. Prayer from afar is merely shouting into the wind. Effective prayer is whispered from near, into the ear of our Father.

The first battle in prayer is to be near to our Father. Doubt, fear, anger, unforgiveness, bitterness, and unbelief are but a few of the tools used to keep people far from God. They are also the tools keeping people from effective prayer. Some people may still spew out words, but effective prayer demands a nearness to our Father that is not possible when separated by sin.

For indeed, those who are far from You shall perish; You have destroyed all those who desert You for harlotry. But it is good for me to draw near to God; I have put my trust in the Lord God, That I may declare all Your works. Psalm 73:27-28 (NKJV)

let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Hebrews 10:22 (NKJV)

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. James 4:8 (NKJV)

Today God is calling, with open arms He is calling to you, He is calling for prayer. Will you draw near or stand far off? If you are going to be effective in prayer, you must draw near. It is important that you do not let anything separate you from God. The need is great for men and women effective in prayer; will you draw near to God and meet this great need?

We can pray if we walk near to God. The choice is ours, near or far, and nearness is better.

Since the first man and women walked on earth, people have struggled in dealing with God. Sometime God is so far away and other times He is so close. People are not always comfortable with either, near or far. With the advent of Jesus, the battle between near and far has radically changed, changed forever.

Jesus taught about God, by both message and lifestyle, of the possibility of being near to God. Jesus spoke of God, as our Father. A father is not a concept of someone far away; a father is very near. One reason for the Jewish people getting so mad at Jesus was His teachings that brought God very near. Just as people had rebelled against being near to God in the time of Moses, so they rejected this idea from Jesus.

Jesus walked on the earth as a man. He walked with closeness to God that was unconceivable to most people. God was always near; Jesus and the Father walked and talked together all the time. Even in the hubbub at the tomb of Lazarus, Jesus was so near to God that He could say, Father I thank you that you have heard Me, You always hear me.

Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.” Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!” John 11:41-43 (NKJV)

Nearness to God is a key to success in many aspect of life. For example, nearness to God is vital for overcoming sin. A little boy, who is not allowed to start fires, would never even think of playing with fire when he is near his mother or father. But if he is far away from them, in the far corner of the back yard, far from his mother’s care and watch, he might play with fire.

The greatest deterrent to sin is closeness to God. When Jesus walks with me and I walk close to Him, I do not sin. It is when He seems to be far off that I sin. Just like the little boy of the fire story, it is all a matter of near or far. Our flesh is like the Jews of Moses time; it does not want to be near to God. It rebels against the restrictions of being near Him. (It does not understand that there is greater freedom in the “restrictions” of being near God, than there is in the “freedom” of being far away.)

Also our enemy, the Devil, works day and night to help us stay far from God. The letters in the delightful book, “The Screwtape Letters” by C. S. Lewis, are filled with advice on how to keep the man of the story far from God. Lewis once wrote about the role of near and far in the battle with sin:

Separation from God is preparation for sin. Doubt, fear, anger, unforgiveness, bitterness, and unbelief are but a few of the tools for staying far from God. Jesus came to bridge the gap of separation, dieing on the cross, loaded with all our sins, He paid the price for nearness to God. Now there is no excuse for separation, our loving Father is like the father of the prodigal son, every day looking for us with open arms, receiving us back to nearness with Him. The question of the day, every day, is will we come to our senses and return to His waiting arms, to be near with Him, or will we languish in the muck and mire of the pig slop of life, far from God.

And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you,

Luke 15:16-18 (NKJV)

The prodigal son was far from his father walking in sin, he came to see that nearness to his father was better. We can walk near or far and nearness is better.

Men and women have always struggled in dealing with God. A major aspect of this struggle has been dealing with a God who seems far away. The ancient Greek concept held that God was so far away and unapproachable that they developed “near gods” to fill the gap. The gods of their mythology were these “near gods” and were as close as Mount Olympus. They came with human attributes and failings. This made these gods more approachable. The mythological stories explained the unexplainable happenings of nature, as well as vagrancies of human nature. These gods filled in for having a real relationship with God. Some form of using “near gods” to fill in for God is found in the many cultures.

The Jewish people radically changed the world’s understanding of a relationship with God. Beginning with Abraham, the Jews experienced a series of encounters with God, near encounters. This was not an easy transition for Jews, nor is it easy for non-Jews. The non-Jew took offense with the Jewish people; how could they make such a radical claim of being near to God. Even the Jews struggled with being near to God; remember their reaction when Moses and God scheduled a meeting with God.

Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off. Then they said to Moses, “You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.” And Moses said to the people, “Do not fear; for God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin.” So the people stood afar off, but Moses drew near the thick darkness where God was.

Exodus 20:18-21 (NKJV)

Moses had to represent the people because the people would not bring themselves to be near to God. That was too scary. Jewish history has many examples of individuals who have had near encounters with God. It is also the record of people who are often far from God.

When the people drew near to God, they were blessed and won their battles. When the people see God as far off, they sinned and lost battles. This happened over and over. The prophets had many messages for the Jewish people (and for us); and a major theme running through these messages is very simple, to be successful draw near to God.

What are you doing about prayer? What principles have you been taught? What lessons have you learned? The life of prayer is a life of growing and learning. It is not for those who know it all, nor for those who have no need. It is for those desperate to see His Kingdom come here on earth as it is in heaven. It is for those who long for all to come to the saving grace of God. It is for those who live and work and have their being in God’s will being done first in them and also in the world.

The Biblical command is to pray without ceasing and to pray in everything. This is a command expressing the will of God, a command calling for the sleepless energy of prayer, of the exhaustless possibilities of prayer, and of the exacting necessity of prayer. Prayer can do all things. Prayer must do all things. The injunction and the practice are not one in the same. Often we fall short of the goal, the perfection that was found in Jesus, the first born of many in prayer. It is His prayer life that is our goal, and His prayer life that is our example.

Every day God is working with the believer, working through the Holy Spirit, teaching us about every aspect if our Christian life. This includes prayer. He teaches us lesson by lesson, some simple adjustments, others major changes, but every day lessons. The goal of our lessons is to be like Jesus. However, we should make note of how Jesus became our goal. He was perfected. He learned to be the perfect example. The Holy Spirit ministered to Him and taught Him. His lessons include learning how to pray.

But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

1 Corinthians 2:10-14 (NKJV)

looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Hebrews 12:2 (NKJV)

What is your lesson for today? What is God teaching you today? In many areas He is teaching each of us. He is teaching us to pray. What was your lesson in prayer today?