David once cried, “O God, you aremy God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a draw and weary land where there is no water” (Psalm 63:1). That speaks of a heart longing for God, a heart full of passion for prayer. No one can have a passion and hunger for more of God, without having a prayer life.
National Prayer leader AlvinVanderGriend once defined prayer as, “the conversational part of the most
important relationship in our lives, our relationship with the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.” Moving over the years from a “commanded to pray” to a “love to pray” person has been profound for VanderGriend. In fact he wrote a book about it; a 40 day devotional titled, not surprisingly, Love to Pray!
Now, after reading thebook and hearing VanderGriend present his material in a “Love to Pray” seminar,
I am starting to be convinced that I can love to pray—and I don’t have to be a contemplative mystic to do it.
When I wrotethis I had just finished presenting five messages at a “Seeking God” conference sponsored by the Westgate Alliance Church in Greensboro, North Carolina. Prepared well by their pastor, Gabe Galdo, I was met with truly hungry people. Each night his congregation—and several other local congregations—came out, hungry to learn how better to connect with God. One night 15 or so came forward to pray to receive the filling of the Holy Spirit. They were people who hungered to connect with God; who longed to be in His presence.
I ambecoming more convinced than ever that people do not want or need more messages on tips to being a better parent, or what the Bible says about our finances and the like (though important). What people—pre-Christians, new believers, solid believers, or longtime believers—need is a steady diet of God’s presence in their lives: connecting with the presence of God, walking in God’s presence, seeking God’s presence.
The firststep toward helping believers connect with God on this level is teaching them to love to pray. (Pre-believers it is of course, praying to receive Christ as their Savior.) If you want to grow deeper in your prayer life; if you want to see the people in your church go deeper—to get to the point where they love to pray—then I recommend buying quantities of VanderGriend’s book, Love to Pray! and participating in a 40 Days of Prayer initiative. Help your people love to pray.
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