Thursday, March 26, 2009

Prayer Devotional: Are You Forcing Prayer?

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. … If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”

--John 15:5, 7

Prayer is not the cause of abiding in Christ, it’s the result or effect of abiding in Christ. Or to put it another way, if we’re truly abiding in Christ, we won’t have to force prayer.

In today’s verse, Jesus tells us what the secret to growing and maturing as a Christian is. It’s pretty simple! Be a branch. That’s it! Be a branch. And because branches are connected to the vine, there’s a constant interchange between the two.

Now, I don’t know what kind of background you come from or what your impression of praying is, but if it helps, I would encourage you to just think about prayer as a conversation. A conversation of a friend with a friend.

And when your relationship with a friend is growing, you talk! You talk and you listen. And in healthy relationships, that conversation and interaction flows naturally.

From Christianity.com with Dr. Jack Graham.

To finish reading the devotional go here.

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