Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Scripture Thursday ~ A HEART FOR PRAYER


 Then shall ye call upon me,
and ye shall go and pray unto me,
and I will hearken unto you. 
And ye shall seek me, and find me,
when ye shall search for me with all your heart
.
Jeremiah 29:12-13


I have had it on my heart lately that more of my time needs to be spent in prayer.  Especially for my family, church family, and friends.  God puts people into our lives for a reason - some permanently such as family members, and others just for a season.   He wants us to make prayer a part of everyday life and wants us to pray for others, as well as ourselves.  I have stopped looking at my prayer life as a discipline and have asked God to give me a desire for prayer and a heart for prayer.    I recently heard mentioned in a Bible study, that we might be the only ones praying for our family and friends, and never thought of it from that perspective.  




How can we obtain a heart for prayer? 
By seeking God through his word, the Bible, and through prayer.                                   

….seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul
Deuteronomy 4:29

…..the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts, if thou seek him, he will be found of thee
1 Chronicles 28:9


Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heartPsalm 119:2

….He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him
Hebrews 11:6


There’s a wonderful hymn written in the 1800’s titled SWEET HOUR OF PRAYER.  You can find more information about this at Wordwise Hymns.   Here’s the first verse.

Sweet hour of prayer! Sweet hour of prayer!
That calls me from a world of care,
And bids me at my Father’s throne
Make all my wants and wishes known.
In seasons of distress and grief,
My soul has often found relief
And oft escaped the tempter’s snare
By thy return, sweet hour of prayer!


There are countless verses on the subject of prayer.  The topic today merely touches the surface.  I’ll be seeking the Lord this week through prayer and asking for him to strengthen my desire to have a heart for prayer.  I’d love to hear from you if you’re going to join me in seeking this as well. 

12x12 Scrapbook Page I made for a previous Scripture Thursday




Print Friendly and PDF

18 comments:

  1. A beautiful post. I so enjoy the way you present your posts! I would love it if you check out my Bloggers Prayer Project and perhaps consider it. As God leads. In His Grace, Dawn

    ReplyDelete
  2. Beautiful post Abby!! Thank you for such a great message and scripture!! How is your husband doing? xo Heather

    ReplyDelete
  3. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'll be back to visit these wonderful links. I can tell that they will be fabulous. I enjoyed singing Sweet Hour of Prayer just now. I hadn't forgotten it, though I haven't sung it for years and years.

    Thinking of anything as "discipline" probably doesn't help. =D Yes, perhaps we can think of these disciplines as great privileges. That may help.

    Thank you for giving me much food for thought this morning!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Sheila Thomas HillMay 17, 2012 at 11:21 AM

    Prayer is always a struggle for me to settle down and just DO IT!! I will ask God, as you suggest, to give me a heart and an attitude for prayer, considering it a privilege and not a discipline. Tnx, Abby. h, sth, Spruce Head,ME.

    P.S. Has anyone considered reading C.S.Lewis' The Screwtape Letters? It's an incredible reminder of how the enemy distracts us so easily and what simple warfare he uses to do so. It is readily found online.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi Abby! Your layout is just beautiful. Thanks for sharing it with us at Word Art Wednesday.
    You know, I think that having direct access to God through prayer is one of our greatest gifts in life, and I feel so badly for those who don't realize we can go directly to Him. And....that He WANTS us to ask Him for things. What an incredible blessing, and thanks for reminding us how blessed we are to have that precious gift. I am blessed to know you, a friend who prays, and I am always here to pray for you as well. God is SO GOOD!
    Hugs,
    Karen

    ReplyDelete
  7. Love your scrapbook page Abby! Also, excellent post re: prayer and yes indeed, those whom God places in our lives may only have us to pray for them! Very good and humbling point.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Yet another reminder/affirmation exactly at the right moment! I am responding a little late on this, but read it as soon as it was posted.

    Your vintage graphics and scrapbook page are sooo pretty!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hi Abby, your layout is beautiful. Thank you for the reminder as I need to pray more for my family and the people that come into my life for just an instance. Thank you again.

    I hope you're doing well.

    hugs

    ReplyDelete
  10. Your blog is great and filled with Beauty. Congrats :-) Hugs!

    Vintage Collages

    .

    ReplyDelete
  11. Abby, I've attempted to put your link button in my blog, but it doesn't work :-( I don't know the reason. I'm going to add your link to my blogs list, ok? Hugs!!

    Vintage Collages

    .

    ReplyDelete
  12. Inspiring words Abby as I have learned to expect from you!
    I love the photo of the child and the dog praying!
    Keep on spreading the sunshine!
    Blessings,

    ReplyDelete
  13. Thanks, Abby for your encouraging and timely words again. Blessings on your weekend! B

    ReplyDelete
  14. This is so cute. Love the colors and the vintage look of it.

    Thanks for playing along with WAW.

    Wendy

    ReplyDelete
  15. It is so true that the time spent in prayer with the Lord Jesus can never be underestimated! I to seek to have a heart for prayer and your post is such an encouragement to me in this!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Hi Abby, sorry there are two of me, the first one wasn't working right so I tried again....please delete on of them. Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Thank you sister Abby -for the reminder to have a heart for prayer. Our Lord so wants our attention on others. We are living in a time when people's faith is at it's lowest.

    I take on your challenge this week -that God will direct my prayers and my heart will be softened to notice what others need.

    Thanks for playing with us @ WAW.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Abby, I am so blessed that you choose to share a scrapbook page this week. Although I love cards, it's so encouraging to see a scrapbook page that incorporates the Word from time to time. Thanks so much for linking it to Word Art Wednesday. Thanks for the teaching on prayer as well. My prayer life is still a work in progress. It's not where I'd like it to be, but praise God that it's not what it used to be.

    ReplyDelete

Your comments are blessings to my day.