How should we then pray?

In our covenant relationship with God, we must first decide to follow Him each day of our life, and to learn His ways and thoughts…

How do we put on the mind of Christ?

To put on the mind of Christ means that we must first decide to follow Jesus everyday, and then through our daily immersion in His Word and in the Spirit, we are then putting on His mind (see 1 Cor 2:16 and Php 2:5), and are thereby learning His ways and thoughts, which are much different from ours.

Jesus tells us in Matthew 11:28-30…

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

In other words, God is giving us an invitation here to allow Him to partner with us in our life, and in taking His yoke upon us He will carry the brunt of the load; and our part, in this relationship, is to learn His ways and thoughts, as we are daily immersing ourselves in His Word and in the Spirit, and then by doing so we are putting on the mind of Christ and are learning His ways of doing things (see Mat 6:33).

Isaiah tells us that God’s ways and thoughts are much different from ours.

Our first step in entering into relationship with Him is that we must seek Him diligently with all our heart.

Jeremiah 29:13

“You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart”

And Isaiah in chapter 55:6-9 tells us to,

6 Seek the Lord while He may be found,
Call upon Him while He is near.

7 Let the wicked forsake his way,
And the unrighteous man his thoughts;

Let him return to the Lord,
And He will have mercy on him;
And to our God,
For He will abundantly pardon.

8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.

9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts.
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Isaiah tells us to call on the Lord while He is near.

God will never move away from us, but we often move far from Him or erect barriers of sin between ourselves and Him.

Don’t wait until you have drifted far away from God to seek Him.

Later in life, turning to Him may be far more difficult.

Or God may come to judge the earth before you decide to turn to Him.

Accept God’s generous forgiveness now, while you can, before it is too late.

The people of Israel were foolish to act as if they knew what God was thinking and planning.

His knowledge and wisdom are far greater than any human’s.

We are foolish to try to fit God into our mold—to make His plans and purposes conform to ours.

Instead, we must strive to fit into His plans.

It is a big mistake for us to try and judge the LORD by our own thoughts and ways, because He thinks and acts in ways that transcend anything man could ever imagine, and to try to keep God in this little box, inside our mind, quenches the flow of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

We should always give room in our thinking for God to do things in ways and by means that we’re not even looking for or expecting, because most of the time when God does answer our prayer His answers generally come at 90° angles from where we’re looking and expecting.

Selah (let us pause and calmly think about these things)
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Friday, June 24
Beliefnet

THE GUIDE TO ASKING GOD FOR A MIRACLE

To pray for a miracle, you may need to change your mindset.
by Wesley Baines

With God, anything is possible. Even a quick look at His works in the Bible reveals that He has healed the sick, granted wisdom, and even resurrected the dead.

And because God does not change over time, we can still count on Him to do these things today.

All we have to do is ask.

But sometimes, we just don’t know how to pray to God for the things we most desperately need, and it can seem as if God is ignoring our pleas.

If you’re in need of divine intervention and just aren’t sure how to ask, read on—we’ll show how you, too, can experience a miracle in your life.

How to Prepare

God answers prayer—of this, there is no doubt.

In Matthew 7:7, Christ tells us, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”

But before we knock, we must prepare ourselves to talk to God.

If you have unconfessed sin in your life, now is the time to ask forgiveness from God.

In John 9:30, the blind man who was healed by Christ proclaims that –

“We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does His will.”

Even more tellingly, In Isaiah 59:2, we find out that sin is a barrier between us and God.

“But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.”

So, before you pray for a miracle, pray for forgiveness.

Examine your heart and give up whatever sin you find there, be it idolatry, hypocrisy, pride, a lack of faith, or anything else—these things warp your mindset so that you are incapable of asking God for a miracle.

Once you’ve prepared yourself through God’s forgiveness, it’s time to get praying for your miracle.

Let’s find out how to do it properly.

Know How to Pray

James 4:2 tells us that…

“You do not have because you do not ask.”

In order to receive a miracle, you must pray for it, but praying with the correct mindset is vital if you want God to answer.

Consider this. God always does what is best for us—even if, from our limited human perspective, it doesn’t seem that way.

When we pray from the wrong mindset—out of greed, for example—if God were to answer that prayer, it would feed that greed and bring ruin to us the long run.

And so praying from the correct mindset means we have to pray for things that are within God’s will.

In Matthew 6:9-13, Jesus Christ shows us exactly how to do this, and it is here that we can begin to understand how to correctly ask for a miracle.

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”

Let’s examine this perfect example of prayer.

Here, Christ isn’t saying we have to replicate the Lord’s Prayer each time we pray.

He’s showing us how to think about prayer.

The Lord’s Prayer begins with an acknowledgement that God’s will is best, and that His will is what we want.

That’s incredibly important, as our selfish, human desires can sometimes cloud our judgment concerning what we pray for.

When asking for a miracle, always ask for that which God would approve of.

Next, the prayer mentions “our daily bread.”

This simply means asking God to take care of you, and to supply you with what you need.

Now, no one needs a new Mercedes or a six-digit bank account, or fame.

What you need are things like food, water, shelter, good health, and love.

God will supply these things, even miraculously. But if the miracle you’re asking for is a brand-new four-story house, you may need to re-think the motivation behind your request.

The remaining portion of the Lord’s Prayer is all about forgiveness and deliverance, and are a reminder, as you’ve now learned, that we must both be willing to forgive and to ask forgiveness regularly.

Follow God’s own example of how to pray, and you can’t go wrong in asking for a miracle.

Live Out Your Faith

Even after you pray for God’s intervention in your life, your task is not finished—you must keep sincerely living out your faith as best you can.

You’re not perfect. No one is. And God isn’t going to remove His hand from your life because of your mistakes. But the key is this: keep trying. Don’t give up.

Living out your beliefs is about more than just avoiding sin—Christianity is an active faith, and God calls each of us to aid the poor, to treat others with kindness and respect, and to serve God using whatever gifts He has given you.

God is here for you, but if you’re not living out your faith, it is difficult to have the right mindset with which to ask for a miracle.

Do your best to live for Him, though, and He will answer your prayer.

Don’t Give Up

If God seems silent, at first, don’t give up.

Continually keep yourself prepared, pray as Christ prayed, and live out your faith, and God will answer you.

Keep in mind, though, that the miracle you seek may not come in the form of fire from heaven or instantaneous healing.

Your miracle may come in the form of a doctor’s visit or a bonus at work or the arrival of a friend who is willing to help you.

Your miracle may even be in the form of a renewed relationship with God as you pray for the miraculous on a daily basis.

Keep praying, and keep your eyes open for His work. If you follow these steps and pray with the right mindset, He’ll answer.

[Wesley Baines is a graduate student at Regent University’s School of Divinity, and a freelance writer working in the fields of spirituality, self-help, and religion]
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