November 2019 - Praising and Thanking our Father

Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. ~Colossians 4:2

Dear friends,

I’ve been thinking a lot about prayer this month. What is the right posture for prayer? Are we to stand, sit, kneel, lift our hands, fold our hands, hold hands with others? Do we open our eyes or close our eyes?

As we pray, let us come to God with open and thankful hearts that are surrendered to his will and grateful for his grace. Consider the following four words as describing the spiritual posture we should adopt when we pray.

Purposeful: Let us come with the purpose of meeting with God, of opening our hearts and lifting up our voices in unity and thankfulness for all that God has given us in our salvation. Let us not be anxious but with prayer be thankful for his faithfulness and grace in our lives (Phil. 4:6).

Relational: Let us build relationship with God through prayer. When we pray, our hearts are opened to let him come in to heal our broken lives. Prayer also gives us the chance to share our concerns for others and cry out for those who cannot cry out. Prayer opens the door in our heart for relationship with God. God loves us and wants to have a personal relationship with us (1 John 4:10).

Attentive: To listen to someone means to pay attention to what they are saying. When we pray, we must not only speak our own words but also be quiet and listen to the Holy Spirit with our hearts. We must pay attention to the Scriptures and really hear what they are saying to us. When we pray the Scriptures, we learn more about God and his heart for us (2 Tim. 3:16-17).

Yielded: To yield means to give up possession of something. As we yield our hearts and lives to God in prayer, we are giving him complete control. When we come to God in prayer, we are saying we believe that he has a plan and that it is a good plan (Jer. 29:11). When we yield to God’s Word and God’s ways – and pray with God’s heart – we are following God’s will (Rom. 12:1-2).