Joy Gascoigne from Grimethorpe Pentecostal Church spoke tonight on the subject of prayer. Prayer is a mark of God’s people, His plan that His kingdom operates through prayer. When we pray, we should expect God to answer.
Luke 5:16 shows us Jesus as a praying man, who often withdrew to solitary places to pray. He prayed with HIs disciples as well as on His own; He prayed in all situations at all times. He was a busy man, but He made time for prayer. People who want to pray must find a time and a place to pray. Like Jesus, we must pray for other believers (see John 17), but we must also learn to pray as He did: sincerely (being genuine and honest, not putting on an act – see Matt 6:6), praying with faith (see Matt 21:22) and with forgiveness (Matt 11:25).
Praying with faith means accepting that God’s answers can be ‘yes’, ‘no’ or ‘not yet.‘ It can be difficult to wait for God to answer at times, but we are not at the end of the story yet. Praying with faith means we trust God even when we cannot see His answers yet. Forgiveness is essential to seeing prayer answered. A lack of forgiveness creates a road block in our relationship with God and stops progress. It limits our access to God. Forgiveness is not a feeling, but a choice, a decision of the will which will always open the door to God’s blessing.
Prayer is essential. We need to pray.
