Below is an article found and shared by our Prayer Team.
As you come to God to get to know him through his Word and grow deeper with him through conversational relationship, you will discover afresh the God who is there, the God who cares, and the God who listens and responds to your prayers. He does all of this in the context of personal relationship, as indicated by the following Scriptures (though these words initially were directed to his people Israel, they reflect his heart for all people):
“Fear not, for I am with you; / be not dismayed, for I am your God; / I will strengthen you, I will help you, / I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10).
“For I, the Lord your God, / hold your right hand; / it is I who say to you, ‘Fear not, / I am the one who helps you’ ” (Isaiah 41:13).
“When the poor and needy seek water, / and there is none, / and their tongue is parched with thirst, / I the Lord will answer them; / I the God of Israel will not forsake them” (Isaiah 41:17).
“You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord” (Jeremiah 29:13–14a).
“And you shall be my people, / and I will be your God” (Jeremiah 30:22).
God longs for relationship, fellowship, and intimate communion with us. That’s what the Bible is all about, from cover to cover. It’s what the psalmist David contemplated in Psalm 139—just how much the Lord knew him personally and intimately before he was born and knew whether David would walk with or try to hide from him day to day. The desire God has for a walking-and-talking relationship with us is also what’s behind Jesus’ “gospel in a nutshell” in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
All who come to him through Jesus are his children, who now may pray, “Our Father” (Matthew 6:9). Through the finished work of Jesus on the cross, we may also enter the very throne room of God—not to receive the wrath we deserve, but grace and mercy in our time of need (Hebrews 4:16). Despite outer circumstances, we can have joy in such a walking-and-talking relationship with Father God.
Father, You are the worthy God who deserves all honor and praise and glory! Help me to walk and talk with You continually each day because I desire a deeper relationship with You! Show me how to listen to Your voice and pay attention to Your word in fresh ways so that I am better able to discern Your purposes for my life and for Your kingdom.
--Adapted from Walking and Talking with God: A Simple Way to Pray Every Day by Dean Ridings. This book is available at prayershop.org.
Prayer Points
Praise God for his heart that is open, warm, loving, and kind toward all he has made.
Thank God for reaching down to draw you to himself through his Son (Jn. 3:16).
Confess the times when your heart has been unwilling to give to others the same out-reaching love that you have received from God.
Commit yourself to learning the kind, patient love of God (1 Cor.13:4).
Ask him to fill you with a knowledge of the depth and breadth of his love (Eph. 3:14-19).
Intercede for the specific caring ministries that your church or denomination is involved in worldwide, asking that broken lives and poverty-stricken families may be helped.
Prayer Points taken from Patterns for Prayer by Alvin VanderGriend. This book is available at prayershop.org.
Connection (Devotions for Everyday Life) © 2024 is a free devotional published daily by Harvest Prayer Ministries. Subscribe here.