To do this, we need to know Him. God is holy (1) , He is love (2) , He is good (3) and He is righteous and just (4) …He is mercy, grace and patience (5) … He is peace (6) and He is joy (7) , to name but a few of His attributes. I think that describes someone who I want to catch up with on a daily basis! How many times though have we prayed a half-hearted prayer or done it out of duty forgetting the Almighty God we are talking to? We can become so familiar with similarly worded prayers that it loses all passion and joy! Isaiah 6:1-6 gives us a perfect illustration of how we should view God and honour the sacrifice He made for us. Its verses like these that should awaken our souls, draw us to our knees in reverence and leave us rejoicing.

When we spend time with God on a daily basis, we get to know Him and like the outcome of any
love relationship this should result in love, trust and joy!

Jesus is our perfect example in every way. In Hebrews 5:7 we read:  “During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.” Even Jesus went to God with eager requests! He knew who He was praying to and what God could do, but what I find most fascinating here is that His prayers were heard, because Jesus had a deep solemn respect for God and acceptance of His supreme authority. This has challenged me for a while now; when I pray, do I leave it with God accepting His answer to the situation at hand, while continuing to seek him in earnest?

Over everything we face, we can look to the one that has saved us from death and trust in His sovereignty. Proverbs 19:21 says “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”

Seeing God as He is, doing as Jesus did and being committed about meeting with Him every day, I am convinced will have greater impact on our prayer lives. Because of this, the passion we have for God and His kingdom will grow rapidly with depth and power. We will believe for more, contend for more and stand strong knowing whatever the circumstances look like, God is in control. There will be fresh desire to battle for our nation to humble herself before God, because we know that our prayers have power to change a nation! Reaching out to our city suddenly won’t be daunting, it will become vital and exciting for us to partner with God in it, knowing He is the God of the impossible. The prayer meeting before church on a Sunday morning will quickly grow more attractive, because our hearts will be aching to see God move amongst His people in greater ways! Our households will be homes of rejoicing and a place of sanctuary for those who enter into it. And for us, we will eagerly anticipate meeting with our Father, because we know that He is our source of life, without Him our everyday just feels empty. We will run to Jesus with hearts that are full of gratitude and a desire to have even deeper intimacy with our Saviour. Therefore we can confidently offer up our prayers and petitions, knowing they will be heard.