HOW TO REVITALIZE YOUR PRAYER LIFE

27th OCTOBER 2021

I cry out with my whole heart; hear me, O Lord! I will keep your statutes.  I cry out to you; save me, and I will keep your testimonies. I rise before the dawning of the morning and cry for help; I hope in your word. My eyes are awake through the night, watching that I may meditate on your word.  Hear my voice according to your loving-kindness; O Lord, revive me according to your justice. They draw near who follow after wickedness; they are far from your law. You are near, O Lord and all your commandments are truth. Concerning your testimonies, I have known of old that you have founded them forever. – Psalm 119:145-152

 

When our prayer life becomes weak, we cannot take authority with God in our prayers. When we are weak in prayers, we seem to experience a downward trend in our personal affairs. These calls for pragmatic steps to enable us to pull through the clouds of the nights. During these periods, we must take one significant action to revitalize our prayer life, submitting all to God and never letting Him go until He blesses us. How best can we do that? Today’s word tells us four basic ways of praying to God to have Him listen to us in good time.

1.     Pray Earnestly (v. 145-146)

2.     Pray Constantly, especially at midnight (v. 147-148)

3.     Meditate on God’s word (v. 148)

4.     Pray Trustingly (v. 151-152)

To be earnest in prayers is to express your desperate needs for God’s help. You must define the need for an urgent response to your prayers (Ref: Colossians 4:12-13). Aside from being desperate, the psalmist says, “I cry out with my whole heart” This means without any reservation – placing total reliance on God is very important.

The best way to meditate on God’s word is to observe some quiet times early in the morning and the last thing in the night before retiring. Take a verse in the scripture on God’s promise, which addresses your peculiar problem. Meditate on the verse and pray with it. God talks to us at quiet times; this is an opportunity to receive His revelation relating to our problems.

To pray constantly to God is to pray without ceasing! That shows that we believe in Him. Constant prayer means to pray many times daily, commencing from midnight or before dawn. There are two parts to prayers. These are prayers and meditation on God’s word and statutes, then prayers of thanksgiving and praises to God. Both forms of prayers must go hand in hand.

To trust God in prayers is to believe that He is ever near us at all times, especially when we commence praying to Him. Therefore, the assurance that God is near us gives us the confidence to pray to Him all the time without ceasing. That is the blessed assurance of believers that the Lord is near; no matter how close our enemies and trials are, God will never leave us nor forsake us. To trust in God is to believe that everything He says is the truth. Verses 151 – 152 give us greater confidence and comfort in a reliable and faithful God; if we call upon Him, He will be near as He promises.

Beloved, today is a new day to make it right with God again in prayers. He is near to us. Knowing the Lord is near helps us not be anxious for anything because we know He can handle everything we encounter. Fretting and worrying indicate a lack of trust in God. Maybe you believe God could help you but that He refuses to help, which means you are questioning His integrity and word. Do not think that way. Just believe in Him; meditate on His Word. Know who He is and how He acts. Then you’ll be able to say, “The Lord is near, so I’m not going to worry”.

PRAYER

Father, I know you are near to me, listening to me when I cry to you.  I thank you, father, for your presence. Thank you for your deliverance. Thank you for prayer answered in Jesus’ name. AMEN.

 FURTHER READING: 1 John 5:14-15, Lamentations 2:19