sermon: Facing Times of Stress: Always in God's Presence
Why Pray?
Martin G. Collins
Given 16-Jul-11; Sermon #1057; 70 minutes
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Martin Collins, acknowledging that we are continually bombarded with distractions that can prevent our contact with Almighty God, gives us a means to maintain spiritual contact, using David’s tactic of continually and forcefully maintaining the Lord before him in his thoughts, prayers, and meditations, a tactic also used by our Elder Brother Jesus Christ. Many of the Psalms are heart-felt, supplicative, and meditative prayers—in effect, an intimate conversation with the God of the Universe. We must make prayer a permanent part of our lifestyle, communicating with God as His offspring. Monotonous, repetitious phrases do not reflect the conversation with a close intimate family member. Prayer should never be regarded as a duty, but as a precious privilege. Prayer is a resource for those facing the stress of today’s world, providing us with peace of mind, patience, and perseverance. Our prayers should not emanate from anger, fear, or resentment, but should reflect delight and positive confidence in God. We need to set our will at placing God in our foremost thoughts through prayer and meditation, determining not to let our thoughts drift to worldly concerns. Our faith grows as we fellowship with God, continuously recollecting prior contacts, interventions, and blessings. God has not only showered us with prior blessings, but has promised to continue blessing us. By saturating our minds with David’s prayers set to Psalms, we can keep God in our thoughts. We need to place high energy into seeking God first before anything else can compete for our attention. God’s called- out ones have been invited to have a continuous walk with Him. We can face any trial when we realize that God is continually with us.
Topics: (show)
Bible study helps CGG Bible Tools Colossians 3:2 Consider the lilies Conversation through prayer Count your blessings Daniel David Dialogue between God and His people Distractions Do not worry about tomorrow Ephesians 1:2-3 Fellowship with God Finding God Genesis 18 Hardness Hebrews 4:13; 11:6 Hope of the faithful Humility Luke 18:1-8, 21:4 John 16:32 Matthew 6:6-8, 25-34 Meditations Persistent friend Persistent widow Prayer Praying three times Promise Psalm 16: 8-11; 31:6; 37:3-5; 55:16-17; 63:1-2; 65:16; 199:164; 138:3 Recollection Romans 14:8-12 Secret of King David II Corinthians 2:7 Strength in weakness Submitting to will of God Thirsting for God Thorn in the flesh Three as a pattern of occurrences Zechariah 4:2
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