Help me to pray Lord

How often if ever have you continued in prayer until you felt assured that God had anwsered it? Anyone? I can honestly say that I have never prayed with such faith and assurance. I have never locked myself in a quiet place and prayed until my heart was empty and until I just didn't think I could pray anymore, not really. I have attempted something similiar to this once in my 5 year Christian journey. There are so many people that are heavy on my heart and whom I pathetically and very casually pray for each day. There are so many days that I weep at my failure to consistently lift them up in prayer. Interceding for those I love in prayer should fill me with such joy and I should yearn to be in His presence with their needs. There was a time in my life when I truly understood and delighted in deep conversations with my heavenly Father. There was a 2 year period where I consistently every night asked God to save my husband to come into his heart and transform it. Every night for 2 years my heart pleaded with the maker of the universe and He heard my little voice and answered my cries of desperation for my husbands heart to love Him. Now we are together enjoying God and trying desperately to glorify Him. I desire to once again realize the joy of prayer, the life changing, transforming, power of prayer.

Often times when I entire into prayer with the Lord my humanly expectations are to ask solely for what I want, for what I need and not for what He wills. Looking at Luke 11:1, the disiples watched Jesus as He prayed to His Father in heaven and they were captivated and longed to know God the way He knew God and so they asked: "Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples." I know for a fact that my prayers do not call people's souls to leap with a longing to yearn for a deep relationship with God, definetly not like Jesus and they will never be like those of Jesus of course the only begotton son of God. I ask Jesus the same question and here is His anwser for me: And he said to them, "When you pray, say: Father, hallowed by your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation."

I don't know about you but I am so thankful that one of the disciples was bold enough to ask the son of God how to pray! I can just imagine standing there as He prayed and just being taken by the intimate love and relationship that was so evident. Jesus has given us the perfect example of exactly how to pray. Lets continue a little more down in Luke where we are told by Jesus: "And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"

These descriptions speak of an earnestness and intensity; all too often, our prayers are merely wishes cast up to heaven, and this is not real prayer.

Plead with the Lord in prayer! Earnestly seek Him and His will for your life. Allow prayer to change you and that in it you will find deep satisfaction in the maker of the heavens and the earth. Let's listen to the words of Jesus as he instructs us in the pattern of prayer and let us believe them.