~ A petition to God in thought or word; an earnest request ~
King David in Psalms 142:1-2 wrote, "I cried unto the LORD with my voice; with my voice unto the LORD did I make my supplication. *I poured out my complaint before Him; I showed before Him my trouble."
When a child comes in front of a parent and just stands there not saying anything, the parent will most likely will ask, “what do you want?” Of course, God “YHWH” knows our thought but He, like our earthly parents likes to hear our voice.
As a general rule a parent can recognize their child’s voice when they cry out for help even when the child is in amongst a group of children. Our Heavenly Father knows everything about us, His children and He is eager to hear and answer the prayer of the Saints. He is also desires with great joy to hear the sinner’s prayer of repentance.
Another thought is when we cry out in prayer, a cry is instantly heard and requires immediate attention. Therefore, when one of the Saints cries out unto the Lord, He will hear and quickly respond.
In Joel 2:17, the Prophet Joel wrote, "Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O LORD, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God?"
One thing every Saint needs to remember is that Jesus has made each of us to be as Kings and Priests unto God “YHWH” therefore, every Saint is to earnestly pray for the lost souls and especially pray for one another.
We read in Revelation 5:10, "And hast made us unto our God, Kings and Priest, and we shall reign on the Earth."
The phrase “hast made” is in the perfect past tense. Therefore according to God’s thinking, "He calls those things that are not as though they already are", Romans 4:17
We read in Revelation 2:5-9, "Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. *But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate. *He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. *And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive; *I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan."
There are requirements that we must adhere to: we must come to the realization that we have sinned or done something wrong and then we must repent “confess with our mouth", Romans 10:9, if we hope to be saved.
Just because a person doesn’t like some of the bad things that people do and just because a person is basically good, these qualities alone will not grant that person a place in the Kingdom of God.
Therefore, it behooves us to listen to and adhere to the Written Word of God “YHWH” the Bible. We the Saints of the Most High God MUST over-come the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life which things are sin.
We do not want to be seen as a hypocrite because it will not profit us anything but we will lose everything. God “YHWH” does not hear the cry or prayer of a hypocrite.
The Prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 64:7 wrote, "There is none that calleth upon Thy Name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of Thee."
Sometimes it seems that the Saints have forgotten their Calling to pray and intercede for one another ~
We need to stir up our pure minds, 2nd Peter 3:1, that we might be mindful of God’s Holy Word, to do it.
In Job 15:4 we read, "Yea, thou castest off fears, and restrainest “holdeth back” prayer before God."
As one song says, “Prayer is the Key to Heaven.” We need to stay in a continual mind or attitude of prayer. If a child stays close to their parents, they are not as likely to suffer any harm or loss. Likewise, it the Saints will stay close to God “YHWH” in prayer and observance to His Written Word, then they are not likely to suffer harm or loss either.
We also read in Job 21:14-15, "Therefore they say unto God, Depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways. *What is the Almighty, that we should serve Him? and what profit should we have, if we pray unto Him?"
One might say, “I would never act or say anything like that” but when a person is not willing to be obedient to God’s Holy Word, the Bible, then they are in essence saying, “God, I don’t want anything to do with you.” How then can a person that has this type of attitude expect to receive an answer to their prayers unless they truly repent with a completely submissive heart and mind “Spirit, Soul and Body?”
In Psalms 30:2, King David wrote, "O Lord, my God, I cried unto Thee and Thou hast healed me."
It is truly a Blessing to know that when we call on the Lord that He hears us and that He answers our prayers according to His Riches and Mercies in Christ Jesus His Son. Praise His Holy and Righteous Name!
The Apostle James in James 5:16 wrote, "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."
I don’t think that James was saying that you should elaborate on the things that you have done wrong. But that you are just to say, “pray for me, because I have fallen short or I have done something amiss.”
One thing nice about praying for others is that you can expect for God to help you in your need when you selflessly pray for others ~
When a person endeavors to live a life according to the Written Word of God, the Bible, they can expect their prayers to be heard and answered.
The Apostle Paul in Romans 10:9-10 wrote, "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. *For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."
Believing is from the heart and / or mind but confession is made with words from the heart, that is spoken by our mouth.
Just as any parent that has a small child anxiously awaits to hear their child’s first words, the Lord desires to hear us, His Children, he wants to hear us speak to him with our mouth.
I would suggest that we have a continual prayer of praise in our heart and mind to Glorify the Lord God Almighty.
Derwood A. Stewart, Minister
House of Prayer Sabbath Ministries
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