The Privilege of Prayer

The podcast episode is about the privilege of prayer. They discuss how it is a privilege to be able to communicate with God and that even Jesus himself found comfort and joy in talking to God. They talk about praying as if talking to a friend and the importance of praying in the morning. They also discuss why some people are reluctant to pray, such as feeling that their prayers are not effective or being distracted. They mention that prayers should align with God's will and that sometimes prayers are not answered right away. They share ways to avoid distractions and boredom during prayer, such as starting the day with prayer and finding a special place to commune with God. They also talk about the importance of connecting with God through nature. Hi, Marissa. Welcome to our podcast. Thank you. Do you know what our topic is about today? Prayer? Yeah, it's actually about the privilege of prayer. And, um, I know we were like having a conversation earlier about some different things that you thought were cool about it and stuff like that. And you want to mind sharing what we were talking about? Well, we were talking about how it's such a privilege for us to talk to God. And that we have a God that we can communicate with and He listens to us. And it's such a privilege for us to talk to God. It really is. Like, even Jesus himself, He's the Son of God. And He felt the need to stay up all night sometimes commuting with God. And He was sinless and everything like that. How much more do we need to be talking to God and getting wisdom for what to do during the day? Since He found comfort and joy in communicating with His Father, do we find comfort and joy when we talk to Jesus? And, but yeah, having that privilege is quite incredible. It really is. I was just reading through the chapter in the Great Cross, well, in Steps to Christ on the privilege of prayer. And it says that prayer is the opening of one's heart to God as if to a friend. So, like when you're praying, how do you pray? I talk to God as He is as my friend. I tell Him about my actual life, what's happening, what I liked about my day, what I didn't like about my day, what I ask for things that I need in my life. And I pray for different people too. But I talk to Him as I do that. I talk to a friend. So He's like your best friend. And this, I was just, I just saw this, but it says, prayer does not bring God down to us, but it brings us up to Him. So it brings us up to His level and everything. And it doesn't make us like stay at the same level. It actually elevates us, which is really cool. And when do you think is a good time to pray? Well, any time is you can communicate with your Father in Heaven. But in the morning is sometimes the best time because you can start your day off with God. But there's times that we need to talk to Him like really fast. Like I call it the Nehemiah prayer. When Nehemiah was in front of the king and the king was asking what's wrong. And Nehemiah said a quick prayer up to God. And then Nehemiah spoke to the king. And sometimes we just need help right away. And we can set up a quick prayer. It doesn't have to be fancy. Just asking God for help and He'll help us. That's a really good point. Yeah. Why do you think people are so reluctant to pray some of the time? Well, some people feel that their prayers are not effective. And there's distractions that make it hard to pray. And a lack of personal significance. And also no one taught them. And that's a big thing. And people can get kind of bored. They don't know how to talk to God. And when you start from the beginning, it's going to feel a little bit boring. Because you're talking to, it seems like you're talking to nothing. And it seems kind of weird. But when you start to grow a relationship with God and you see the answers to your prayers, you'll begin to love it and want to spend more time with Him. And sometimes people feel that their prayers are ineffective. But sometimes we're not asking what is in God's will. And if we're not asking what is in God's will, He doesn't want to give it to us. Because it's not going to be what's best for us. If we regard iniquity in our hearts, if we cling to any known sin, the Lord will not hear us. But the prayer of the penitent, contrite soul is always accepted. If there's some sin blocking us from communicating with God, He won't answer what we're asking for. But He'll always hear us when we come to Him and confess and have repentance for our sins. That's a really good point. Yeah, I've had a lot of friends, even in my personal life sometimes, they feel like their prayers aren't effective and that God just doesn't care about them. And that why do you even want to talk to God if He's not answering your prayers or if you can't even feel that He's listening to you. And I've found that the more I pray, the more that I trust, and the more that I just talk to Him, the closer that I actually feel. And when my prayer actually aligns with what God's will is and what His law states and everything, and if it's for my own good, then He'll answer it for me. But if it's just some silly thing that is actually not what God wants for us or what will be good for us in the long run, then that's why He doesn't answer our prayers. It's because it's not for our best. And sometimes He doesn't even answer them right away. He might say, wait a while, not right now. Or, oh yes, you need that prayer. Okay, I'll answer this for you. Or, I think this would encourage you a little bit. Sure, let's do that. But I think that's one of the things that people have a hard time understanding is why sometimes your prayer is not answered and when sometimes it is. And also that would have to do with like how close you feel to God and some things like that. But what are some good ways that you have found to avoid the distractions and the feeling of boredom? Well, I'll start in the morning with a prayer to God and when I wake up, I'll drink some water and then I'll just sit on my bed and talk to God. And I found that when I do it right away, that I'm not getting into the business of life yet and I've started my day with God. And with the boredom, when I first started praying and having a relationship with God, I was like, this is boring. I don't know what I'm doing. Why am I doing this? But as I kept going with it, He showed what He can do and I grew to love it. And if you have a special place that you want to go and just have communion with God, it's a very powerful way to see how God works. And sometimes I'll just like to go outside and sit and talk and read with God. And that's my favorite time to talk to God, when I can go outside and see His nature and also commune with Him. Yeah, like even Jesus, when He was spending time with God, He would go out in nature. And I forgot where it says this, but it says that nature is God's lesson book, that you can learn so much about God just through nature. And I would encourage each one of you who are listening to this to just take a moment out of your day and just think about some day in nature and connect it with God. Or the first thing when you wake up in the morning to just, even if you don't have like a ton of time, just take a few seconds or a few minutes and just talk to God and see how your day goes. And in the evening too. And if you don't feel like you have enough time, if you put God first, you'll always find things work out for you if you put Him first. Take ye first the kingdom of God and all these things shall be added unto you. That's a really good point. Well, thank you for coming up today Ms. Miranda. Thank you very much for having me. I hope you have a great day. You too. Bye guys.