“Pray without ceasing.”
These three words, if applied, will change your life and put you in the very heart of God’s will. These words, as translated here (KJV, ESV) are also translated “pray continually” (NIV), and “pray constantly” (NET).
Pray hard. Pray long. Pray a lot.
Pray about everything. It doesn’t necessarily mean 24/7 in the literal prayer closet, for there are other things we must do in life, all the other things that God has created us to do. What the scripture is getting at here is that our relationship with God should be so fine-tuned that we have an on-going interaction with him all the time, not just a few minutes of devotion in the morning or evening, as important as those times are.
God is with us everywhere, at all times. We can pray while driving along in our car, while shopping, while working, while at the gym. One thing I especially like to do is pray as I go to sleep and when I do that I find that I often wake up in prayer, for I believe we can pray even as we sleep.
As we pray we can find that to be one of the greatest times of meditation on scripture, as well as memorizing the Word.
A life of joy, strength and the fruit of God’s Holy Spirit will dominate our lives as we enter the life of prayer, for prayer is the entrance to worship. As Christ told the Samaritan woman, “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth (John 4:23–24 NIV).”
Christ was telling her that location is not important, but it is the nature and action of prayer―in the Spirit and in truth―that is crucial. This means in the empowering of the Holy Spirit and the power of the Word of God―scripture.
I hope you will enter into a life of prayer in the Spirit and his Word.
It will change your life.
©2018 by Ben Bounds. All rights reserved.
__________________________________________________________________________________
We can come to know Christ through confession of our sins and repentance (turning away from sin). Let me encourage you to do this by talking to God through prayer. Here is an idea of how you might do that:
"Dear God, I believe your son Jesus Christ died in my place on the cross and rose from the dead on the third day following his death. I confess my sins, all of them, to you now with a humble heart. I repent of those sins and ask you to empower me with your Holy Spirit in overcoming further sin. Amen”
If you prayed this or a similar prayer committing your life to Christ and becoming one of his followers, let me encourage you to find a good, Bible-believing church.
Begin talking to God in prayer and reading the Bible daily. A good way to begin to read the Bible is to start with the Book of John in the New Testament.
Feel very free in connecting with me if you need any further help in your walk with the Lord Jesus Christ. You can do this via the above email or facebook page or this web page.
____________________________________________________________________________
Mercy Road Ministries was founded and now led by Ben Bounds. Ben has pastored churches across Texas for over thirty years and is an ordained minister with the Christian and Missionary Alliance (C&MA). He holds a BA in Pastoral Ministry and Biblical Studies from Southwestern Assemblies of God College and did graduate theological studies at the BMA Theological Seminary.
Ben's first book, The Divine Chase: Responding to a Pursuing God, was released on 12.08.2017 through Westbow Press, a division of Thomas Nelson and Zondervan. It is available in paperback and hardback through your preferred bookseller (Mardels, Barnes and Noble, etc.) and paperback, hardback as well as ebook through online book retailers (www.christianbook.com, www.cokesbury.com, www.amazon.com, www.booksamillion.com, www.barnesandnoble.com, etc.).
Ben is the host of Staying in Bounds, an on-air Bible devotional broadcast multiple times daily on KWJV 103.7 FM Weslaco, TX which can also be heard worldwide online at www.kwjvthestar.com.
Ben and his wife, Linda, together have four adult children and nine grandchildren. They live in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas.
Ben can be contacted for preaching engagements at benbounds695@gmail.com or 903.441.3279. Ben can also be contacted via his website @ www.benbounds.com, which is also his blog and contains more information about his ministry.
Follow Ben @ https://www.facebook.com/mercyroadministries/ and this website www.benbounds.com.
©2022 by Ben Bounds. All rights reserved.
Comments