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 DEVOTE YOURSELF TO PRAYER

Colossians 4:2 "Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart."

The word "devote" in the Old Testament refers to the whole burnt offering. To devote something was to surrender everything, nothing held back, to be consumed by the Lord.

Devoted to prayer entails giving your whole self to prayer in utter surrender of all you are to God in intentional communication, not religious meanderings. It is a seeking of the Lord, asking the Holy Spirit to reveal the Presence of God to you, to enter into the throne room in Jesus' name. This devoted seeking of the Lord in prayer involves communicating ALL the Holy Spirit brings to mind and heart.

It is a remembering all He has done for you in Christ Jesus in gratitude, worship and praise. It will contain intercessions for family, friends, and those you know who are still outside the grace of God, lost and without hope in the world. Such devoted prayer will result in you bringing the sick to lay them before the Lord Jesus. You will bring not only your needs but the needs of others you know to Him, surrendering them all to Him in prayer.

Devoted prayer doesn't try to craft "fine religious verbiage" as if that would impress God or define your devotion to Him. It will be you being completely real in His Presence, asking the Holy Spirit to reveal any and all you need to bring to the Father, all you need to confess, all you need to surrender. In His Presence, you learn to be still and listen for His voice. Pray the Psalms, pray and personalize every prayer St. Paul offers up for the churches he wrote to, pray the promises of God.

Devoted prayer becomes a life-style. It is the essence of "praying without ceasing", a way of walking in the Spirit by the Holy Spirit's moving, leading and directing your heart and mind to bring all of life to the Lord.

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