May.12.04: Light for the Day - "Two Obstacles to Prayer"
-- John 16:24
"Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that hearts may be full of joy."
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There are two major obstacles to prayer. The first obstacle arises when the devil prompts you to think, "I am not yet prepared to pray. I should wait for another half-hour or another day until I have finished taking care of this or that." Meanwhile, the devil distracts you for half an hour, so that you no longer think about prayer for the rest of the day. From one day to the next, you are hindered and rushed with other business. This common obstacle shows us how maliciously the devil tries to trick us. ...
The second obstacle arises when we ask ourselves, "How can you pray to God and say the Lord's Prayer?
You are too unworthy and sin every day. Wait until you are more devout. You might be in the mood to pray now, but wait until you have confessed your sin taken the Lord's Supper so that you can pray more fervently and approach God with confidence. Only then can you really pray the Lord's Prayer from your heart."
This serious obstacle crushes us like a heavy stone.
Despite our feelings of unworthiness, our heart must struggle to remove this obstacle so that we can freely approach God and call upon Him.
-- Martin Luther
-- Matthew 6:9-13 (The LORD's Prayer)
9 Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.
10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors.
(12 and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us.)
13 And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
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-- Matthew 7:7,8
"Ask, and it will be given to you;
seek, and you will find;
knock, and it will be opened to you.
8 "For everyone who asks receives,
and he who seeks finds,
and to him who knocks it will be opened."
-- James 4:3
When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
-- Mark 14:38
Keep alert and pray. Otherwise temptation will overpower you.
The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."
-- Romans 8:26
And the Holy Spirit helps us in our distress.
For we don't even know what we should pray for, nor how we should pray.
But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.
-- Jude 1:20
But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit.
-- 2 Thessalonians 2:16,17
May our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, Who loved us and by His grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope,
17 encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.
-- James 5:13-16
13 Are any among you suffering?
They should keep on praying about it.
And those who have reason to be thankful should continually sing praises to the Lord.
14 Are any among you sick?
They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord.
15 And their prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make them well. And anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven.
16 Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.
The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and wonderful results.
-- 3 John 1:2
Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, just as it is well with your soul.
-- Jude 1:20
But you, dear friends, must continue to build your lives on the foundation of your holy faith. And continue to pray as you are directed by the Holy Spirit.
-- Hebrews 13:18
Pray for us, for our conscience is clear and we want to live honorably in everything we do.
-- 2 Thessalonians 3:2
Pray, too, that we will be saved unreasonable and wicked men; for not all have faith.
-- 1 Thessalonians 5:17
pray without ceasing,
-- 1 Thessalonians 5:25
Brothers, pray for us.
-- Colossians 1:3, 10
We always pray for you, and we give thanks to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and you will continually do good, kind things for others. All the while, you will learn to know God better and better.
-- Colossians 4:3
Don't forget to pray for us, too, that God will give us many opportunities to preach about His secret plan - that Christ is also for you Gentiles.
That is why I am here in chains.
-- 2 Corinthians 13:7
Now we pray to God that you will not do anything wrong.
Not that people will see that we have stood the test but that you will do what is right even though we may seem to have failed.
-- Ephesians 3:16
I pray that from His glorious, unlimited resources He will give you mighty inner strength through his Holy Spirit.
-- 1 Corinthians 14:13
So anyone who has the gift of speaking in tongues should pray also for the gift of interpretation in order to tell people plainly what has been said.
14 For if I pray in tongues, my spirit is praying, but I don't understand what I am saying.
15 Well then, what shall I do? I will do both.
I will pray in the spirit,
and I will pray in words I understand.
I will sing in the spirit,
and I will sing in words I understand.
-- Ephesians 3:17
And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust in Him. May your roots go down deep into the soil of God's marvelous love.
-- Jeremiah 29:11-13
11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.
12 Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.
13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.
-- 2 Thessalonians 2:16
May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by His grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope.
-- 2 Thessalonians 3:5
May the Lord direct your hearts into an ever deeper understanding of the love of God and the endurance that comes from Christ.
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