118 IT’S TIME TO PRAY. Psalm 51:7.

Do you remember when restaurants had operating hours? It was their schedule not your appetite that determined when you should or shouldn’t eat. Not any more! now you can pop in to many eating places day or night to satisfy those hunger pangs. And that’s how God operates too; He is available 24/7. And although praying isn’t limited to set times, There are certain times when it is vitally important to talk to God. Here are two of those occasions: (1) When you have sinned. Your emotions of guilt and shame plus Satan :the accuser” will tell you to avoid God. But turning to Him is the only solution to sin. Burdened by adultery, deception and murder, David realised he needed to confess his sin. So he prayed: (Psalm 51:7) “Cleanse me with Hyssop and I will be clean, wash me and I shall be whiter than snow...Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.’’ And in (! John !;9) we read “God is faithful and just, and will forgive us ALL our sins and purify us from ALL unrighteousness.” So, have you sinned? A fresh beginning is only a prayer away.(2) When you’re worried and afraid:- You don’t have to look far to find things to worry about; They are all around you, Financial, professional, health and family concerns can stress you out, so where do you turn? Prayer is God’s answer to fear and anxiety. (Philippians 4:6-7) says: “Do not worry about anything, but pray and ask God for everything you need. Always giving thanks, and God’s peace which is so great, we cannot understand it, will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. For most of us prayer doesn’t come naturally, we know it’s supposed to be a dialogue, but for many of us it feels like a monologue. There’s nothing more difficult that talking to someone who wont talk back. We don’t like to admit it, but what really concerns us about prayer is, ‘How can I pray so that God will give me what I want’? Prayer is not about particular words or how many of them you use, or even the time you spend on your knees. No! It’s about getting acquainted with God, familiarising yourself with His nature and attributes, attempting to please Him by seeking His presence with the intention of forming a relationship with Him. Although God loves you deeply, He will not force you to love Him in return, you must understand this; the need is ours, and must come from our hearts. He is the Creator, you and I are the created! If you have something to talk to someone about, you may say “We need to find somewhere we can talk” Why? Because you need to be heard, and you need to hear what they have to say. When you eliminate the noise of the world, You maximise your ability to hear God; This shows God you are serious about your relationship with Him. Psalm (91:1) puts it this way “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High, shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” Do you have a secret place where you can be alone with God? It can be anywhere. But you do need a secret place where you can go and show God you mean business with Him. The difficulty we have with prayer is not new, even the Apostles had to ask Jesus to teach them to pray, isn’t that interesting, there they were, day after day spending time and talking with ‘The Son of God’ yet they had to ask the question, and by the way, that’s the only time in the Bible (Luke11:1) when that question was asked. “Lord, teach us to pray” and Jesus clearly answered with ‘The Lords Prayer . Prayer is not primarily about telling God what you want; It’s about getting close and personal with Him. One pastor put it this way, God is saying, “Don’t bring me your shopping list, I already know what’s on it, we will deal with that later, just bring me your heart, bring me your true love, bring me your undivided attention.” No!, Prayer is not mainly about getting things from The Lord; It’s about having regular, meaningful times with Him, consulting Him, seeking His opinion, asking His advice. These invaluable times spent with God will bring great rewards ) in Psalm 77:2 we read “In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord.” Here are two important prayer principles you need to keep in mind, (1) Talk to God when troubles surround you. If you are like most people, Good times can make you trust in yourself instead of trusting in God. It’s the troubled times that drive you to your knees; a bad medical report, a child off the rails, a lost job, a marriage breakup , these are God’s intentions in allowing troubled times! He allows trouble to affect us – not to make us miserable but to bring us to himself. Hosea the Prophet said (Hosea 5.15) “In their misery they will earnestly seek God” What God’s father-heart wants above all else, is, that we abide and confide in Him. And if it takes trouble to do that, He loves us enough to permit it. But, when we turn to him in our troubles, we discover that He is our refuge and strength and always ready to open the windows of heaven to accommodate us. (2) Talk to God at all times. In his classic book, “The Practise of the Presence of God,” Brother Lawrence speaks of a continual conversation with God being a practise for all places, times peoples and circumstances, While cooking, cleaning and washing dishes. He found conversing with God as satisfying as praying in his allotted prayer times. He counsels us; That we may accustom ourselves to a continual conversation with God...in quiet simplicity where we might need only to recognise God’s intimate presence with us, by reciting a short prayer of worship or thanks, thus addressing ourselves to Him every moment. That sounds like Paul’s instructions on the subject. (Ephesians 6:18) “Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests… Always keep on praying for all of God’s people”. What is prayer? Is there really a good reason to pray? If God has everything in hand, what’s the point of me praying ?.These are valid questions, and need answers, So with the help of The Holy Spirit I will attempt to answer them. (1) Prayer is communication with God. Take a moment to understand this. The God who created you and me has expressed an earnest desire, not only to have us talk with Him. But, He says when we do, He will listen to us and even give us what we ask or need. This is not Mr Coca Cola, or Elon Musk, or King Charles speaking, No! This is the Creator of the Universe, who can buy and sell any or all of those guys a million times over. He has the power of life and death over every single living creature on this planet. It is He who has expressed a deep desire for you and me to call Him Dad and talk to Him with all the expressions a loving son or daughter would have with their father He wants to hear YOUR voice and YOUR words what YOU did at work or school (good or bad) about the net-ball, hockey or footie match, or how you managed to loose that important contract at work, which may cost you your job. or brought in the neighbours washing because it looked like rain. He just wants you and me to talk to Him. about things (big or small) in our daily lives, To form a deep, parental relationship with Him. You say, “Why me? If He’s got everything at His fingertips, Why me? Answer... Because He made you and loves you so much that He gave His only Son Jesus to die a crucifixion death so that you could be saved from Hell. He can’t contemplate the thought that His Son died in vain for you. And for that reason He will pursue you for the rest of your days...(2) How should I Pray? Answer...I know it’s hard to talk to someone you can’t see or hear, But, You know, deep down in your heart that there is a God. Someone who created this world, The animals, the fish, the birds, The trees, vegetation and flowers, the sun, moon and stars. Yes and even Human life, All this couldn’t have come in to existence by chance or accident. Yes, you do know deep down in your heart, there is a God. who made you and loves you deeply, and let me tell you, You can talk to Him and He will reply through situations, circumstances and other people. Eventually you will be able to hear and know His voice when He speaks to you in your heart and mind. I know this to be true, it happened with me. It’s like anything else you really want to have happen in your life, Practise it everyday, and pretty soon you’ll wonder how could you ever live without this wonderful God in your life. And one more thought, other people’s opinion wont matter, because your Father is the God of the Universe and He loves you more than anything else He’s created. His Son Jesus will walk beside you, and His Spirit will direct your footsteps when you ask God in to your life..Do it today, you don’t know what tomorrow will bring, Thank you for reading these thoughts on prayer, It’s the best and only perfect way we have of communicating with God, until that day when we meet Him face-to-face. Hopefully on that occasion, you wont have to introduce yourself, but sail in to the outstretched, everlasting arms of the one to whom you have been praying for so long….”It’s Time To Pray.” Abundant Blessings. Phaline.