Andrew Womack's daily devotional says this for today:
Matthew 6:7 "But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions,
as the heathen [do]: for they think that they shall be heard for their much
speaking."
Some of the most effective prayers are the shortest prayers.
Jesus said, "Peace, be still," and the wind and the waves ceased (Mark 4:39). He said, "Lazarus, come forth," and Lazarus came back from the
dead (John 11:43-44).
Today, there is a new emphasis on the quantity of prayer instead
of the quality of prayer. Jesus never advocated long prayers, and there are
only a few instances where Jesus prayed long prayers. This is not to say that
communion with God is not important. It certainly is, but formal prayer is only
one part of our communion with the Lord.
Psalm 5:1-2 uses the words "prayer" and
"meditation" interchangeably. Therefore, communing with God through
keeping your mind stayed on the things of the Lord is also prayer. There are
also times in prayer when we need to be still and know that God is God (Psalm 46:10). Many times we ask the Lord to speak to us, but He can't get a
word in "edge-wise." We're doing all the talking.
This is a great reminder, but there is a part of this that he hasn't mentioned. 1 Corinthians 14:2 tells us this:
2 For one who speaks in an [unknown] tongue speaks not to men but to God, for no one understands or catches his meaning, because in the [Holy] Spirit he utters secret truths and hidden things [not obvious to the understanding].
There is a step in our prayer time that is very needful in order to pray a truly specific and powerful prayer! We MUST, after praise and worship and praying in fellowship and communion with the LORD, enter into prayer in the Spirit. JESUS was filled with Holy Spirit at His baptism by John and He prayed in the Spirit. THAT is why He could use so few words to pray in POWER! We must pray in other tongues in order to receive those specific and secret things that God would have us to pray out in a known language. When we pray at our Morning and Friday prayer services, we pray in the Spirit MOST of the time. We end with prayer in English as Holy Spirit leads us, declaring and decreeing those things that need to be prayed out, according to God's Word, so that HE can confirm those prayers with signs, wonders, miracles, healings and deliverances. If we leave out prayer in other tongues, we are not putting ourselves in position to hear those secret things from the throne of God that HE desires us to pray. There are many powerful things that prayer in the Spirit accomplishes, and this specific prayer is one of those powerful things! Don't neglect prayer in the Spirit! If you need to know more about this, please visit our website through the link on the left. Check out the audio message on Holy Spirit and then go to the Sermon Archives and listen to the entire series on Holy Spirit! You will be SO glad that you did! Here is Hillsong Worship with "Behold (Then Sings My Soul":
Shalom in Him!
