Can you give me a verse of encouragement about prayer?
The Bible is full of encouragements for the believer to pray.
1 John 5:14-15, “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.”
James 5:16, “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”
Matthew 21:22, “And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.”
1 Thessalonians 5:17, “Pray without ceasing.”
Hebrews 4:16, “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”
These are just a few examples showing the power and effectiveness of prayer. Prayer can be defined as simply as talking to the Lord. We might say that we talk to God by prayer and He talks to us when we read His Word. Both are vital for a healthy, growing Christian life. We are assured that the Lord is always awake and listens to our prayers. We read in Psalms 121:4, “Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall NEITHER SLUMBER NOR SLEEP.”
Before ending, I want to point out a couple of hindrances to having our prayers answered by the Lord.
Psalms 66:18 says, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” If we continue to allow sin in our lives, this will cause the Lord to turn a deaf ear when we call upon Him. It this is the case, then pray and confess this to the Lord so that He might forgive and cleanse you. 1 John 1:9 tells us, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
James 4:3 says, “Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.” If we ask the Lord for things just to satisfy our physical desires, He will not respond favorably. When we pray, we must ask with a good spirit and intention so that the Lord will be pleased to answer us.
So, let us rise in the mornings with prayers upon our lips. Psalms 5:3 teaches us, “My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.” Let us continue throughout each day, staying in communication with the Lord by constantly praying…sometimes short prayers, sometimes longer, more involved prayers.
Whisper a prayer in the morning,
Whisper a prayer at noon,
Whisper a prayer in the evening
To keep your heart in tune. (318.4)