DEVELOPING DEVOTION: ENERGISING PRAYER

One of our aims at Mapmakers is to energise prayer. There is a great variety of expressions of prayer that we can engage in as we follow Paul’s instruction to be ‘praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.’ The Apostle continues encouraging us to ‘keep alert with all perseverance’ (Ephesians 6:18). This is because we can very easily become weary and distracted. So how do we keep alert? How do we get energised to persevere?

All of our praying must flow out of our relationship with the Father, through Jesus, and by the power of the Holy Spirit. The starting place for effective prayer is in the hidden place alone with the Lord. This was a clear pattern in the life of Jesus who ‘would often slip away to the wilderness and pray’ (Luke 5:16 NASB).

Developing a life and expression of devotion to the Lord in this hidden place is essential to our walk with Him, and being fruitful people who can multiply the workings of His kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. This month we will be hosting a two-part equipping course on this subject (see our events page for details) and posting videos of this teaching on our YouTube channel (see resources section).

I have found this continual development and practice of expressing devotion through prayer, personal worship, and dwelling richly in the Word of God to be vital in my life. This doesn’t come easily to us but needs intention on our part. It grows in us as we discover language and ways of expressing our response to the revelation of Jesus Christ.