The School of Prayer: Alone with God

Hi Team, from now on you will get occasional postings from our prayer team via Inge. These are meant to encourage you in your prayer life....enjoy! Brent


What is God’s heart for us?

His Word tells us through Paul in 1 Cor 1:9 “ God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” He has given us His Son and the gift of the Holy Spirit so that we may have an intimate relationship with Him. If we miss this we have failed the calling God has for our lives.

How do we do this?

Matt 6:6 “ But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”

Jesus teaches His first public teaching in the Sermon on the Mount that we should pray not to be seen or heard by others, but that we should pray to meet with our Father alone in secret.

When we want to spend a special evening on a date with the one we love, how intimate is our conversation when it is just the two of you versus the whole family? And yet we love our family, but we also need these special times alone to nurture our relationship. This is exactly what Jesus was teaching his disciples on the mount: spend time ‘dating’, getting to know Jesus in prayer.

If you set aside a little time each day somewhere special, He will meet you there & He will make Himself known to you - Jesus teaches that.

Andrew Murray teaches us the following in his book The Essential Works of Andrew Murray on The School of Prayer:

Jesus specifically uses the name of Father in Matt 6:6. The first thing in ‘alone’ prayer that we need to remember is that we come to meet our Father. The atmosphere with which Jesus desires to have it filled is God’s Father-love and God’s infinite fatherliness. Therefore each thought or request we breathe out will be simple, hearty, childlike trust in the Father.

Think of it as your child coming home to tell you with great excitement how to ride a bike. You, the loving parent, will kneel down, pick him up, put him on your lap and listen to his story as if it is all you have longed to hear. Even though you are busy and already have a good idea of how to ride a bike, you listen with interest as you love him and want to make your love known to him. Our heavenly Father wants to listen to us and re-assure us of His love in the same way. Jesus teaches us that He brings us into the Father’s living presence & that what we pray there must benefit.

Why is our Father in a secret place?

God is a God who hides Himself from the carnal eye. As long as in our worship of God we are chiefly occupied with our own thoughts and exercises, we will not meet Him in Spirit. But to the man who withdraws himself from all that is of the world and man, and prepares to wait upon God alone, the Father will reveal Himself.

This is a reminder to us of the secret of God’s tabernacle, within the veil – where our spirit truly comes into contact with the invisible God.

Remember, Jesus teaches that the Father is waiting there in the secret room where He is always to be found. Even though your heart is cold, and distant from God and you don’t feel like your prayers will avail much. Remember that just as a father has compassion for his children, so the Lord has compassion for you. Do not think of how little you have to bring God, but of how much He wants to give you. Remember the parable of the lost son and the love with which the father ran towards his son, that is the same relationship of love the Lord wants with you. Just place yourself before Him and trust Him.

Jesus assures you through His word that secret prayer cannot be fruitless, that its blessings will show itself in your life.

Please pray with us:

• For us as a church to become a house of prayer.
• For our leaders to be lead in unity by the Holy Spirit.
• For unwavering faith in all God's promises.
• That the teachers and parents who teach our children to love the Lord, may be filled daily with the Holy Spirit and God's wisdom and love.
• For the building of the church: that the Lord may be the centre of our plans and that we will have full faith in His provision and power.

If you have the need for prayer or if the Lord puts it on your heart to come and pray, won't you come and join us on Wednesday mornings at 10h00 or Wednesday evenings at 17h30 at church. You can also contact us on prayer@pvfc.org.za or SMS 08332600629009.