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The Importance of Prayers In Maintaining Your Peace Of Mind
by Ngozi Nwoke The role of prayers in securing and maintaining your peace cannot be over-emphasized. A life without prayers is one full of troubles and that will soon be terminated. A prayerful person knows better not to play with his prayer time since experience has taught him that he rules over the devil on his knees. This article emphasizes the importance of prayer in maintaining your peace of mind. "Prayer is not a check request asking for things from God. It is a deposit slip - a way of depositing God's character into our bankrupt souls." - Dutch Sheets, "Any concern too small to be turned into a prayer is too small to be made into a burden." - Corrie Ten Boom "Men may spurn our appeals, reject our message, oppose our arguments, despise our persons, but they are helpless against our prayers." - J. Sidlow Baxter "Work as if you were to live a hundred years, pray as if you were to die tomorrow." - Benjamin Franklin Prayer is a dialogue between you and God; you talk and listen to God. It is the fastest and cheapest way to conquer situations because you are relating with the creator of the universe. Prayer gets things done in the right way. It is the channel of involving God in the affairs of men, except you pray God can do nothing about that situation. When you pray, things happen! In 1 Thessalonians 5:17, as part of his last exhortations to the Thessalonians, Paul urged them to pray without ceasing, after which in verse 23 he prayed that the God of peace Himself would sanctify them completely. Prayer provokes the Prince of Peace to perfect all that concerns you. It is a must if you are to enjoy a peaceful life on earth. The importance of Prayer in maintaining your peace of mind 1. Prayer prepares you for the day Prayer is a way of depositing God's character of peace into our bankrupt souls. It equips you with the peace you need for the day. No challenge that comes your way will throw you off balance when you have had a quality time with God in prayer. The peace of God robs on you and envelops you such that no arrow shut against you gets at you. You will find yourself smiling and at peace when things seem not to be working as you desire; this is called the peace that passes all understanding - Philippians 4:7 When the multitude from the chief priest and elders of the people came to arrest Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:47-56, John 18), Jesus was at peace because He had just come from praying. On the other hand Peter who didn't pray with Christ as He had requested, had no peace of mind and was making mistakes and taking the wrong steps throughout that day. First he cut off the servant of the high Priest's right ear and Christ rebuked him for it. And not long after that he denied his master, Jesus, whom he had earlier on said he would lay down his life for - John 13:37. So prayer settles your mind and equips you to pursue and conquer the businesses of the day. 2. It gives you answers Whenever you have answers to the bugging questions in your mind peace sets in. And prayer being a channel of receiving these answers from the "all knowing God" is therefore very instrumental to your peace of mind. When you pray God speaks to you; that is why you shouldn't do all the talking and then rush out. You should wait and listen to hear God's reply to your prayer. Peter while praying got answers to the questions about Jews' conducts with the gentiles. So when he was faced with the issue of Cornelius he was at peace and when the Jews queried him about it, he boldly answered them without fearing what their response would be (Acts 10, 11:1-18). And many years after he still referred to the incidence to solve another problem - Acts 15:7. 3. It instills confidence and faith in you Faith is a sign that you have peace of mind over an issue. When you spend time communicating with God in prayer, you will discover that gradually you are building your confidence in God, His word and in yourself. You develop full trust in God's ability to help you and handle issues that are concerns to you. The word of God in Hebrews 10:35, tells us that our confidence carries a great recompense of reward, one of which I believe is peace; you will know and believe that that troubling case is settled forever. Paul having received answers from God concerning the raging storm in prayers had peace and was confident to announce to his ship mates that there would be no loss of life among them but only of the ship. He had full trust in God that it would be just as God told him - Acts 27:22-25. Your encounters with God in prayer give you confidence to face tomorrow, not just to pass through it but to conquer and subdue it. A consistent prayer life builds faith in God in you that leaves you perpetually at peace at all times. You get to trust God that anytime you call upon Him He would answer, so that even when the storm of life is raging you are calm and calculated. This was the story of Daniel. Daniel with death sentence over him and his friends boldly asked King Nebuchadnezzar for time, that he might give him the interpretation of his dream. He believed that all he needed was to pray to God for the interpretation of the dream and God would reveal it to him. He went into prayers with his friends seeking an interpretation of the king's dream from God and God revealed it to him. He then returned to the King with full assurance that he had the answer for the king and surely he had the answer; and not only were their lives spared, they were also promoted - Daniel 2:1-49. 4. Prayer makes every crooked path straight. There are circumstances that are beyond our human comprehension and ability to solve but are no challenges at all to God. This is another reason why you need to pray. In prayer, you surrender these issues to God to handle for you. Yes, you work as if you have all the time in the world but then, you need to pray to God to ensure that you remain alive and victorious for each new day. There are forces of darkness whose sole work is to steal, kill and destroy, and it's only our Lord Jesus who has come to give you life in abundance - John 10:10. So, you need to ensure that every detail of your life is under Christ's care. If you consider any concern too minute to be prayed for then don't turn it into a burden later. Men may spurn your appeals, reject your message, oppose your arguments, despise your person, but they are helpless against your prayers. On your knees, you move mountains and Kings obey your commands. This is because the king's heart is in the hand of the Lord and like the rivers of water He turns it wherever He wishes - Proverbs 21:1 It is through prayers that you engage God to make the crooked places straight for you and to break in pieces the gates of bronze and cut the bars of iron - Isaiah 45:2. When you secure God's intervention, your peace of mind becomes automatic. 5. It establishes peace around you If you want peace around you then you must pray it into existence. God in many scriptures emphasized the importance of prayer if you want to enjoy peace. In 1Timothy 2:1, He admonished us to pray for kings and all that are in authority so that we may live a quiet and peaceable life. And in Amos 6: 1-7, God rebuked all who were at ease in Zion when things were going wrong and told them that because of that they would go into captivity. When you choose not to pray when you see something small going wrong, know that before long it will become something big that will swallow up any peace you may have. And in Isaiah 32:9-20, God also rebuked the women who were at ease and complacent. He warned them that if they didn't change they would see calamities upon calamities, troubles upon troubles; but that if they would pray and call down the Spirit of God upon them they would see fruitfulness, justice and righteous. And then, the people will dwell in peaceful habitation. What you can't achieve because you are not in the political, economical or social position to do so, you can achieve on your knees. The peace you desire in your family, place of work or nation you can achieve through prayers. Every knee bows at the name of Jesus! What you don't want, you shouldn't just watch; do something about it and most importantly pray about it. Now, prayer is not just saying something to God, it is praying from the heart, backed up with God's word and faith in Him. You may pray for an hour and still not pray, but when you meet with God even for a moment, you will be in touch with Him all through the day. Therefore, target to meet the Prince of peace in prayer, and peace will stay with you all day. Ngozi Nwoke is a teacher, speaker, counselor and author of "Peace Money Can't Buy" and "The Man Jesus: What You Need to Know About Christ". She has a passion to teach people how to enjoy peace, God's love, and Christian living for a more fulfilling life. Want a more fulfilling life? Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |