![]() We can become deists, effectively removing God from our lives. ![]() If we believe Scripture only applies to people in general, then we can miss how God intimately personalizes his counsel to us as individuals. The Word provides the structure, the vocabulary. We need the sharp-edged, absolute character of the Word and the intuitive, personal leading of the Spirit. We need to develop the habit of “listening prayer.” Most of us think of prayer as only talking, but we need to think of it as a two-way conversation, where there is talking and listening. The Spirit is supposed to pray through you. Prayer is supposed to be a two-way conversation as the Holy Spirit reveals what he wants for God’s kingdom. Pray with the Holy Spirit, because he is the one who knows God’s will and is responsible for extending God’s kingdom on earth. Come up with 10 verses (or five, or 20) to memorize in the new year that you could start using in your prayers.Ģ. A little accountability with your small group can go a long way here. I love to hear Scripture prayed back to God! If Scripture memory is a challenge for you, enlist the help of others. My favorite pray-ers are those who lace Scripture all throughout their prayers. The HEAR method (Highlight, Examine, Apply, and Respond in prayer) of reading the Bible is a helpful way to do this. Let your prayers start with your reading of Scripture. Whenever you spend time in the Word, highlight verses that stand out to you so you can go back and pray them. This is a good habit for several reasons, but it’s particularly apt for prayer. This has come home to me in two practical ways: When you know you are praying the promises of God, you can pray with holy confidence.” Or, as Mark Batterson says in The Circle Maker, “One thing is certain: Our most powerful prayers are hyperlinked to the promises of God. I’ve heard it said that the prayers that start in heaven are the prayers heard by heaven. What this means is that our prayers should be grounded in Scripture. We are adding our faith to God’s promises, connecting the power of God’s promises to our situation. That’s what we are doing when we say, “Your kingdom come, your will be done” (Matthew 6:10 ESV). There has to be a cord that connects them and transfers power. If you have an electrical source and an appliance, one has plenty of energy, but the other (while visually imposing) is totally lifeless. ![]() Our faith is supposed to serve as the wire that connects God’s power to the needs of the world. Know and pray Scripture, because Scripture is how we know best what God wants to do in the world. There are two key things to accomplish when we pray this way: 1.
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