Spiritual Sundays: The Attitude of Prayer

On Sundays, it is my hope for this blog, to share a spiritual word with my readers. My Sundays are usually devoted to praise, worship, fellowship, peace and rest. However, if I am able I will post something that will hopefully touch you in a way that it has touched me. If I do not post on a Sunday, then hopefully it will come on Monday.

My Pastor is a dynamic, amazingly anointed man and I am blessed to be a part of a church where I am growing more and more each day. I feel spiritually stronger after hearing the message and that is something that I am so grateful for. I know I have matured along my spiritual walk because now I take notes in church. These notes allow me to encourage myself and edify others with a dynamic message. This is the first time that I have ever had a desire to take notes in church and it has truly made a difference in my life. We use the New International Version (NIV) of the Bible and we study from the Life Application Study Bible.

The Attitude of Prayer (Dr. Lea - December 2008)
Ephesians 6:17-18
"17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord's people. (NIV)

1) Be Prayerful
Being prayerful is "attitude that characterizes your lifestyle."
You must pray in the Spirit and pray on all occasions (even when things are calm).
2) Be Alert
Sometimes when we are in prayer, thoughts and images pop into our mind and we have no explanation for why we thought that in the moment. These thoughts are distractions used by the enemy to confuse & interrupt your personal prayer time.

The Life Application study notes pose an interesting question & answer for the aforementioned verse 18.
"How can anyone pray on all occasions? One way is to make quick brief prayers your habitual response to every situation you meet throughout the day. Another way is to order your life around God's desires and teaching so that your very life becomes a prayer."

My Response This message reminded me of the Power of Prayer and how it needs to be a part of your daily life. I consider myself a prayerful person, but I can do better. My goal is to do a better job of making prayer a habitual response to every situation. I remember trying this when I found myself frustrated in class. I just put my head down and said a silent prayer to the Lord. I found peace and comfort in the prayer and in minutes the frustration was gone. Dr. Lea recommends to "get into a hidden and heavenly place in prayer." In my private time, candles and my prayer pillow help set a peaceful, prayer mood for me. What works for you?

Blessings and Favor,
Beautiful