Receive His Love, Experience His JOY and Rush to Prayer!

            Have you had your JOY JUICE today?  I pray that you have!

            If someone asked you why you pray…how would you answer them?  Do you pray out of habit?  Do you pray expecting to change God’s mind?  Do you have a “grocery list” of wants?  WHY should we pray?   Let’s learn from the best teacher of all: JESUS. 

            The Bible tells us that Jesus would often withdraw from the crowds and pray.  But wait!  Wasn’t He perfect?  Why would He need to pray?  He didn’t have to ask for forgiveness of sin. Do you think he went to His Father in prayer because of His love?

            Indeed, prayer builds our love relationship with God.  He gives us commands in His Word and we should obey because of our love for Him.  Everything He instructs us to do is because of His love for us.  We should love him so much that we have a desperate longing to communicate with Him in prayer. 

          In Ephesians 3:14-19, Paul prays, “that you may be able to comprehend… what is the breadth and length and height and depth and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge…”

            Writer Dan Hayes says:  “The longer I love (Jesus), the more I think that the chief reason for the gift of prayer is that we learn to receive, experience, and return His love in genuine relationship. Prayer is one place where God can get our attention, speak to and minister to us. It is for this reason first, that we can learn to rush to prayer.”

            Receive His love, experience His JOY and rush to prayer!