Why Pray & Spend Time With God - Part 3 - Pursuing Intimacy With God

Uncategorized

Why Pray & Spend Time With God ?

In Part 1 and Part 2 we reviewed many reasons to the question “why pray & spend time with God” ?

In this final part of our series on why we should pray and spend time with God, we will look at even more important reasons. Hopefully you will see the vital need for prayer and spending time with God. Prayer and spending time with God is vital to have intimacy with God and close fellowship with Him, vital for us to know God in real and personal ways, vital for having the kind of abundant life God wants us to have…

Why Pray & Spend Time With God ?

Here are various other important reasons why you should pray and spend time with God. Regularly. Daily if possible.

BECAUSE YOU HAVE MUCH TO ACCOMPLISH. YOU WILL ACCOMPLISH FAR MORE FOR GOD IN YOUR SERVICE & MINISTRY, FAR MORE AT HOME OR IN YOUR FAMILY, FAR MORE AT WORK,… IF YOU TURN IT OVER TO GOD FIRST, LET HIM RUN THE SHOW & LEAD YOU, AND LET HIM WORK THROUGH YOU BY HIS HOLY SPIRIT.

Isaiah 26:12 – “LORD, you establish peace for us; all that we have accomplished you have done for us.”

We will not be victorious and able to produce spiritual eternal fruit without the Lord empowering us and working through us.

John 15:5 – “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

Abide In Christ

“Abide” or “remain” in Jesus means to live in vital unity with God. You need to have an ongoing intimate relationship with Jesus in order to be a fruitful disciple of His, and to have the abundant and meaningful and fruitful life that God wants you to have.

“ The supernatural power of God can accomplish far more than the combined fleshly efforts of sincere Christians.” – Henry Blackaby / “Experiencing God”

“When we try to do the work of God in our own ways, we will never see the mighty power of God in what we do.” – Henry Blackaby / “Experiencing God”

“LORD, the God of our ancestors, are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you… Our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” – 2 Chronicles 20:6,12

“The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” – James 5:16b

“I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” – Philippians 4:13

The Keys to A Victorious & Fruitful Life

Prayer and spending time with God, close fellowship with God, and a heart that is committed to God are the keys to having a full and fruitful and victorious life. When you fully surrender yourself to Jesus and let Him set the agenda for your life, then He is able to fill and control and direct you, and He will do everything with you and through you. When you decide to continually do this you will begin to see Jesus do immeasurably more than all you ask and imagine (see Ephesians 3:20-21), and God will be greatly glorified through your life.

John 15:8 “This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”
God wants you to be close to Him, and to be victorious and fruitful in your life and in your ministry. This brings much glory to God.

Jesus is our example for the question Why pray & spend time with God ?:

WHENEVER JESUS NEEDED TO KNOW GOD’S AGENDA AND THEN ACCOMPLISH IT, HE PRAYED. HE DID THIS DAILY:

Jesus gave you an excellent example you need to follow. In John 5:19-20 and 30 Jesus said that apart from God’s power he could do nothing. This shows that he was fully human during his life here on earth. He also said that he lived to do His Father’s will and to please Him (also see John 4:34), because his motive for all he did was out of love for God. If Jesus needed to pray and seek God’s agenda and plans, and then have to depend on God to provide the strength and power, then so will you. When you live in complete intimacy and unity with God, He will be able to accomplish supernatural things through you.

John 14:10-12 – “The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.
Luke 6:12-13 – “One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles.”

THE KEY TO TIME MANAGEMENT: (Charles Stanley) – Luke 6:12-19
“You won’t find a Bible passage that says that Jesus rushed or ran. He never dashed to keep an
appointment or scrambled to finish a task. He did exactly what He needed to do in just the right amount of time– never early, never late. He was never too busy to meet unexpected needs. For a Savior with so much to do in so short a time, this unhurried approach may seem surprising. Three years was all He had to complete His ministry. And constantly the needy crowds were pushing to get to Him, desperately seeking His attention. What was His secret ? Jesus knew who sustained Him and kept Him on track. “He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God.”(v.12) It was God the Father who set His pace and directed every step. As a result, spending time with God was more important to Jesus than anything else. The next day He was refreshed and ready to begin the Sermon on the Mount. The key to Time Management is time spent with God. When you give God first place each day in prayer and reading his Word, He helps you discern what’s important to Him and accomplish it on time. Are you letting God set your agenda ? His schedule is always best.”

Another important reason why we should pray and spend time with God:

BECAUSE YOUR NATION NEEDS PRAYER, AND NEEDS GOD TO MOVE IN PEOPLE’S HEARTS & LIVES. OUR NATION NEEDS GOD’S PEOPLE TO HUMBLE THEMSELVES, FERVENTLY PRAY & SEEK GOD AGAIN, AND TURN COMPLETELY AND WHOLEHEARTEDLY BACK TO HIM ( 2 Chronicles 7:13-14)

“Judgment in this life may be remedial, and bring you back to a right relationship with God, or final, displaying His wrath against your sin and leaving no opportunity for repentance. God can use natural disasters, human conflict, disease… to bring judgment. God’s discipline seeks to lead you to cry for help, repent, and experience revival.” -Henry Blackaby

Our nation desperately needs you (and all of God’s people) to turn fully back to Him, to live the way God wants you to, and to fervently pray and intercede for your nation and the lost people in it. Our nation and world desperately need to see God pour out a spirit of revival in His people, and a spiritual awakening so that many many lost people will come to know Christ and avoid judgement and eternal separation & eternal punishment for their sins.

Pursuing Intimacy With God is committed to helping you with the most important thing in your life… your intimacy with God , your fellowship with Him, and your partnership with God in His Kingdom work & mission.

There are hundreds of Bible verses and great truths & promises in the Pursuing Intimacy With God studies book

** New Expanded Edition of Pursuing Intimacy With God Bible Studies Book – 40% more material

Ebook version of Pursuing Intimacy With God on Google Books

Pursuing Intimacy With God ebook Kindle version

Salvation: The Requirements for True Salvation