Written by: John Sernaque
Dear Reader,
Books / Pr - Prayer (2002) / Chapter 1—God Invites Us To Pray Chapter 1—God Invites Us To Pray
Jesus Invites Us to Pray—The Lord gives us the privilege of seeking Him individually in earnest prayer, of unburdening our souls to Him, keeping nothing from Him who has invited us, “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” Oh, how grateful we should be that Jesus is willing and able to bear all our infirmities and strengthen and heal all our diseases if it will be for our good and for His glory.—(Medical Ministry, 16.) {Pr 8.1}
“Come unto Me,” is His invitation. Whatever your anxieties and trials, spread out your case before the Lord.—(The Desire of Ages, 329.) {Pr 8.2}
Tell Jesus All Your Needs—There are few who rightly appreciate or improve the precious privilege of prayer. We should go to Jesus and tell Him all our needs. We may bring Him our little cares and perplexities as well as our greater troubles. Whatever arises to disturb or distress us, we should take it to the Lord in prayer. When we feel that we need the presence of Christ at every step, Satan will have little opportunity to intrude his temptations. It is his studied effort to keep us away from our best and most sympathizing friend. We should make no one our confidant but Jesus. We can safely commune with Him of all that is in our hearts.—(Testimonies for the Church 5:200, 201.) {Pr 8.3}
Our Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus has invited us to the banquet. He calls us to come to Him. This is an invitation we do not want to miss. When we come to Him in prayer, He does not come down to us, rather we go up to Him. Jesus is willing to bear all of our burdens, that we may find rest at the foot of His throne. This is our precious privilege of prayer. Bring all your cares and troubles to Christ in earnest prayer and make Him your confidant. Place all your trust in Jesus and He will grant you the peace that this world cannot give. Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus.
Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name,
We bow before You on our knees in reverence of our Almighty Creator. We come to You with all our cares, our burdens, our infirmities, our perplexities, our troubles and distresses large and small, and lay them at the foot of Your throne and pray that You give us rest. We pray that You grant us peace, not as the world gives, but as only You can give. Sometimes our burdens are too much for us to bear alone, and that is why we wholly depend on You to lift these burdens from us. You have said for us to yoke up to You, as Your yoke is easy. We thank You for sympathizing with us as a friend and for always being there for us to commune with at any time, being our confidant with every matter we bring to You. We thank You for healing us in all ways, spiritually, mentally, and physically. We pray that You, being the Master healer, will restore us and revive us, heal us and keep us healthy, and make us whole. We are eternally grateful for the sacrifice You made for us, and are sorry and repent of our sins. We pray that in Your loving mercy, may You forgive us of all our sins, the known and the unknown. We pray You hear and answer all our prayers according to Your will. May You help us stay on the strait path that leads to Your heavenly kingdom. May we always hear Your voice, that wherever You lead, we may follow. Help us to prepare and be ready for Your Great Day to come so we may be among Your saved saints to meet You in the clouds and make our way to Your heavenly kingdom. This we pray, in the name of Christ Jesus. Amen.
