Setting up your prayer palatte

Before an artist begins to paint a picture, he must first prepare the palette.  He takes the paint he needs for the first section and squeezes some on a board, so he can mix the colors as he needs them. 

Think of the five kinds of prayers as colors on a palette. In life, you will be mixing them freely, sometimes with a greater emphasis on one, and sometimes on another. But all five are needed if the
picture is complete.. 

In this training, we are going to look at them one by one.  They are:

Praise—Praise is focusing our attention on who He is.  In praise, we remind ourselves of the majesty, love and greatness of the personage we serve.  Praise draws our attention away from the everyday and on to the eternal, omnipotent, awe-inspiring nature of our Lord.

 Thanksgiving—Thanksgiving is recognizing the goodness of what God has done for us, and all the many gifts He has given. It is an attitude of gratitude for what God has done for us. In thanksgiving, we review our lives and see God’s grace and generosity.

Confession—this is a reality check before God.  We admit to God who we really are.

Confession has two parts. First, it is recognizing the things we have done wrong. Confession is also  recognizing the reality of the promises of God alive in our lives.  We confess to God His faithfulness in blessing and forgiving. 

Asking—God already knows what we need, and what we are going to ask for. Nevertheless God wants us to ask, not for His sake, but for ours.  Asking reveals our concerns to Him,

We do not just ask for ourselves, of course. We also ask for needs all across the world.  This is the greatest aspect of petition—taking ourselves away from our own problems and onto the problems of others. 

Listening— Prayer is a two-way street. We cannot be effective at it if we have only one lane, from us to Him. We have to have two lanes, listening as well as sending. Hearing what God is saying to us in the Spirit is more important than what we say to Him.

prayer is not just asking. Prayer is a lifestyle.  During the next few weeks, we ae going to discover that lifestyle together.

Lord,  help us to learn the richness of a life lived in your presence.  Help us to experience you love and grace in a brand new way.  In Jesus' Name, Amen.