"To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ" (2 Thess. 1:11-12).
If you're struggling with how to pray I want to encourage you to get into the word of God. The scriptures ought to be a constant reminder of our needs, the needs of other and what we should be praying to God for. Jesus said, "If ye abide in me and my words abide in you ye shall ask what ye will and it shall be done unto you" (John 15:7).
Notice here that Jesus promises answers to prayers that flow from a heart where God's word abides. If you are just reading the word of God to fulfill some kind of quota and you are not abiding in Jesus then you will continue to struggle in your prayer life. Another issue is not only that we don’t rely on the scriptures, but that we don’t depend on the Spirit to help us to pray. But my focus in this devotional is to encourage you to allow the word of God to guide your prayer life as you take time to not only get into the word of God but allow the word to get into you. Take time to ponder, personalize and pray the word of God.
I've found the prayers of Paul particularly helpful in guiding my prayer life. For example, in 2 Thess 1:11-12 Paul prayed for others in the church to be made worthy by God of their calling. Are you praying for God to make you worthy of you're calling (salvation)? In addition to being worthy of their calling Paul prayed that God would "fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified..." We need to pray regularly about what we have resolved to do for God in faith that we might know His power and bring glory to His name. Paul said "To this end we always pray for you..." Do you pray regularly like Paul or is your prayer life no more than giving God a Christmas list? Learn to pray the scriptures.
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