Day 638 of Giving Thanks

A collective word on praying…
By Shawn Boreta, Sue King and Tina Wetor, Giving Thanks Daily

How do we pray? 
We pray from the heart!

We keep it simple, conversational and real. Everything we do is essentially a prayer - intercession, praise, cry, plea, complaint, affirmation, justifying and just talking – you and God, that is it!

“But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” Matthew 6:6 (NIV)

Quietly and privately, seek His presence. Prayer is more than words of repetition; it is an expression of desire. Whether we come to Him out of desperation or through pure gratitude, it needs to be genuine. According to the Word, we are to worship the Lord in Spirit and in truth, so it must be in prayer.

When you go to or through others to reach our mighty God, I believe we dilute the importance of our ability to go to our heavenly Father ourselves. I think more than that, we place the one we are praying through above God. You are praying to an entity other than God and asking them to pass the prayer along to God. If that person is Jesus, then we have it right! We've been told to pray through Him because He is the covering that ALLOWS us to go to the Father.

Learning to pray is as easy as saying, “Lord, teach me to pray” as the disciples did (Luke 11:1). And, through His word, you will find the answers.

In Matthew 6:9 and Luke 11:2, Jesus instructed, “This is how you should pray: Our Father in heaven, let your name be kept holy.” It’s amazing to know that we can talk to the Father directly, we never go through anyone else.

Because our connection to God is through our thoughts, and as we come to Him, the Holy Spirit intercedes and brings all things to Him in perfect order. When you go to/through others to reach our mighty God, I believe we dilute the importance of our ability to go to our heavenly Father ourselves. It really dilutes the relationship. There is no great power than the relationship between us and our Father. Oh what a wonderful gift He has given us - relationship.

What am I thinking? What actions am I taking? Everything relates back to thought. Our whole process of life is what we think… my entire life is becoming a prayer. I use to believe that when I prayed it should be all lined-up and in perfect order before delivering it to the Lord. But what I learned from Hannah through her heart felt prayer for a child, is that the Holy Spirit works out our mutterings and delivers them in perfect order to God. Do our words have to be perfect, tidy and well thought out?

“Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk.” 1 Samuel 1:13

"The significance is not for me to receive accolades or recognition; it is for me to know that a difference is measurable in God’s eyes with the work He accomplishes in my life." ~Shawn Boreta

How do we process what occurs, what God does, what is right in front of us?

Essentially everything we do is a prayer - intercession, praise, cries, pleas, complaints, affirmations, justification, curiosity or thankfulness.

“You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.” ~2 Corinthians 9:11

Interestingly the psalmists prayed with various emotions in many seasons: depressed, joyful, frustrated, angry, thankful and confused. Spoken and given to God as the truth within their souls, they were honest. God not only encourages honest prayers, He desires them.

We must also come expectantly to God, expectant that He will meet our needs during our moments of prayer. There are so many times we pray but do we really expect God to move, to answer or to respond at all?

"Seek Him…..first and above ALL things.


So I am learning to go to Him first on all things - to seek His voice first, and to be careful that I don’t allow anything to come between us." ~Sue King

All of our prayers are brought before the Lord; they are as incense before Him, the prayers of the saints. So, He is completely aware of our desires, needs, and wants. It is true, that God doesn’t always give us our wants but He desires to give good gifts to His children. What we must realize is that we are worthy of God’s blessings; we are adopted into the family of God.

“Recently, the Lord convicted me about the unwillingness to receive God’s best. And, don’t we deserve His best?” Tina Wetor 

"We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God—those whom he has called according to his plan." ~Romans 8:28 (GODS WORD Translation)

We are learning that as we work together to bring glory to God, we are blessed beyond any measure and life is an amazing journey when you walk the path with those you love, and we love all of you in Christ.

2 Corinthians 13:14 says, "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all." May you all realize the power and strength you have with who indwells in you, intercedes for you and prays independently for you.

Shawn, Sue and Tina

"Something I learned early in my Christian walk is to come to the Lord and praise Him, give Him glory, call Him by His names to edify Him – give thanks – ask for forgiveness – and lay your request before Him… and today, I give thanks and more thanks and yet, more thanks. Father it is Your will for my life that is trustworthy and that is worth holding onto and waiting for." ~Shawn Boreta

© 2011 Giving Thanks Daily, Shawn Boreta, Sue King and Tina Wetor

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