Praying with Passion

Have you ever truly wanted to get real with God? Have you ever had the urge to run into the middle of the forest and shout out to God, "God, what am I doing here? What do you want me to do?" You look around and see others raising their hands to praise God, tears streaming down their faces as they passionately absorb the music and message of God; and you wonder, "Why not me. Why don't I feel like that? I want what they have and, God, I want it now. I want to know you, God, desperately and passionately."

I want that, too. I have wanted that passionate fire in my heart for years, but I spent so many of those years in desperation and longing, searching for the reality of a God I had only heard about or read about. I did not have that deep relationship and fellowship with God that I was so hungry to find. I began searching, reading and studying and I finally found what I was looking for through prayer. I want to take you there so that you, too, can have a passionate relationship with almighty God through prayer.

Praying with passion means having an intense, real relationship with God that is manifested through our own physical, emotional and spiritual sense of that reality. It means a conversation with God in which we truly know in our hearts that He hears us. Our passion for fellowship with God is visible, even tangible, as we communicate with God in such a way that we move closer to God in all parts of our lives. Praying with passion is praying for real.

I am convinced prayer unleashes the power of the Holy Spirit and enables God to work in the lives of His people. As James 5:16 says, “The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”

As we begin, think about the following two questions.

If everyone prayed just like you do, what would the world be like?

If everyone prayed exactly like you wish you prayed, what would the world be like?

The answers to those two questions are very telling for most of us. Christians often come up short of actually living the life of prayer we wish we had. It is for that reason this study on prayer, although direct and simple, may be one of the more meaningful studies you will undertake in your Christian walk, outside a study of the Bible itself.

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One objective of this study is to help you be fully engaged in meaningful prayer that manifests itself with results and affirmative answers so that your joy may be restored. In this study of prayer and the Bible we will learn to seek God’s will, discern that will, and then courageously follow it. Another, deeper aspect of this book is to enable you to become passionate in your prayer life, as passion on fire has a far greater effect than knowledge on ice. That passion will give you the relationship with God you are looking for.

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Keep in mind that prayer is not about rules or procedures. We won't find ourselves raising our hands and shouting out to God because of the rules we learn. We will raise our hands and shout to God because of our understanding of God's overwhelming love for us. Prayer is all about love. We love because he first loved us. 1 John 4:19.

We will discuss methods of prayer and the teachings about prayer in God’s Word, and even a few basic rules about prayer, as there surely are instructions in the Bible about prayer. It will all be meaningless, however, without an understanding of God’s all consuming love for us. God loves you; love Him back! Love Him unconditionally, under all circumstances, all the time. Realize that love and learn to communicate that love back to God through prayer.

Spend time in your Bible, spend time in prayer and be ready for the blessings God will confer on you by honoring Him in this study. When you begin to understand your relationship with God and God’s love for you through the conduit of prayer, God’s will for the entirety of creation can be revealed. With the understanding of God’s will, there is no limit to what God can use us to accomplish through prayer. There is no end to the joy you will experience as you live in God's favor. Then, you may be that person passionately shouting out to God as you absorb His message and his music.

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Keep in mind, this is not about you. This is about God. This is about your having an abiding faith in God and in His willingness and ability to deal with all issues, all of the time, in all ways. This is about the exercise of your faith through prayer.

In the introduction I used the questions of, "God, what am I doing here? What do you want me to do?" The answer is simple, really. It is the same answer John the Baptist gave the Jewish leaders when they questioned him about his purpose. "... I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, 'Make straight the way for the Lord.'" John 1:23b. Through your life of prayer, live a life that shows others the way to our Lord Jesus.

I hope one day you and I both will be able to use the words Paul used in 2 Timothy 4:7-8. “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day ­­ and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”

God bless you and your willingness to serve our great and mighty God.