Prayerਨਮੂਨਾ

Get an early start

This psalm was written by David whilst he was hiding from his enemies in the Judean wilderness before he was eventually crowned King of Judah and Israel. It speaks of both his trust and delight in God. It is a psalm of a mature and passionate believer.

David’s opening lines are also instructive to people who are just beginning to pray. We learn two things here: firstly, God is our God. He is our God because He chose us before we were able to choose Him [Ephesians 1:11 NIV]. This gives us incredible confidence to start to engage with God with words and thoughts and conversations. Secondly, David says that he seeks God early. This may be a reference to his habit of praying first thing in the day or may be his desire to be communicating with and connecting with God long before he has a specific need or list of needs that he wants God to help him with.

Kenneth Hagin, a well-known American preacher, was asked once ‘How do you pray through?’; in other words, ‘How do you break through in prayer to where your prayers are answered?’ He replied, ‘I don’t pray through, I stay through’. That is, he had taught himself to remain in a state of rest and prayer, to be sensitive to pray and hear the voice of God immediately at any time.

Can I encourage you to get an ‘early start’ on your prayer life? Start to seek God earnestly and warmly in all circumstances of life so that when you need a season of intense prayer you find yourself ready and effective to both talk to and hear from God.

Written by JOHN SCOTT