PRAYER - silence is golden

The last thing most people think of when they think about prayer is SILENCE! The idea of silence being important in prayer isn't just rare, it seems rather opposite!

Picture this: Go to God the next time we meet with him (another conversation) with a BLANK sheet of paper and a sheet of paper filled with all your junk, worries and stress. Which sheet do you give to God first in prayer. And if you give him the 'to-do list' sheet, how often do you get around to letting Him speak to you heart (blank sheet)?...not all that often I bet!

What if we looked at prayer not so much as us telling God everything on our mind and heart - but as listening to what God wants to put on our mind and heart?! What if we gave God the blank sheet first and let Him speak to us about what we SHOULD be thinking and praying about?! What if we started our prayers with silence.........?!

Don't assume that you should present everything to God just because you are stressed about it! God knows your needs and may still want to put someone else on your mind, reveal something about Himself that may dwarf your overwhelming issues, or maybe just see how long you can sit in His presence and soak up the fact that you are with the all-powerful creator of the universe!

Let's give Him the BLANK sheet FIRST and trust the Holy Spirit to get to our list if we are supposed to. Let's begin by praising Him, enjoying Him and letting Him speak!

TRY THIS:

- Starting you prayer time with silence or scripture.

- Sense the Spirit leading you to think about certain people or things.

Ways to test if a thought is from God

- seek council about it

- ask 'does this lead to knowing Him or making Him known?'

- ask 'does this line up with the person and purpose of God?'

- Know that God cares about little things

- Go to God with confident reverence. He's bigger than your issues!

- Make prayer a lifestyle/daily conversation

- Be persistent with your prayers and concerns