Warning! Are you missing out seeing an amazing God? (Updated)

How big is your God? I was at a prayer and fasting retreat for pastors and the speaker for the event was one of my mentors Ron Auch of Pray Tell ministries. He had a great illustration that I wanted to pass along to you. He reminded us of the fact that the moon is about 2200 miles across. At the same time the sun is over 800,000 miles across. They are not even close in size. But the much smaller moon is able to block out the view of the sun in the form of an eclipse. Isn’t that amazing?

But what does that have to do with your life? When we think of comparison of the devil and God we have the same kind of difference of size. God and the devil are not even close when it comes to power. Yet the devil can often block our view of God. This happens for 2 reasons:

  1. We allow the devil to get a lot closer to us than God.

This can happen through our favorite sins. This can happen through simply the seemingly harmless activities that allow too much darkness in our lives. I can’t say what that is for you, but each of us must guard our hearts.

  1. We let the devil get between us and God.

This happens when we don’t proactively move into His presence. Ron put it this way, “Our greatest spiritual battle is to get into the prayer closet.” When we see how big God is He takes up our whole view.

Has God got out of view because you need to get rid of some darkness that has got to close, or is it just a need of running into His presence?

11 Leaders Give Advice To Have Your Best Prayer Life Ever

Kevin Senapatiratne 2015

What if Christian leaders could come alongside you and give you a piece of advice or encouragement to help you have a great prayer life? What would they say? I asked these Christian leaders and here is what they had to say:

I believe a good prayer life comes from “recognition”- recognizing God for who he is- our creator, savior, and salvation. And us recognizing our deep need for Him. It’s important to set aside a certain time of the day to pray for a while. But it’s also important to “pray without ceasing” throughout our day in things that we “recognize”.

Mac Powell -Third Day

www.thirdday.com Twitter: @macpowell

I am a big believer in praying consistently for the people I am discipling. I use my iPad to keep photos of the people I pray for weekly. I have photos of my family, close friends and the Timothys I am mentoring. During my prayer time I flip through these photos to pray for them. I have found it to be a powerful and effective way to pray for the people I care about!

Lee Grady- Charisma Magazine and Mordecai Project

www.leegrady.com Twitter: @LeeGrady

The plans of God are only revealed in the presence of God. We don’t get our marching orders until we get on our knees! But if we hit our knees, God will take us places we never imagined going by paths we didn’t even know existed.

Mark Batterson- New York Times Bestselling Author of The Circle Maker

MarkBatterson.com Twitter: @MarkBatterson

It may sound simple, but the best advice I can give anyone regarding improving their prayer life is to Pray about Prayer.  In other words, if you need help with your prayer life (and who doesn’t?), then why not ask for help? When it comes right down to it, none of us are really that spiritual.  If I want to be a man of prayer, I am going to need the Lord’s help. Pray about prayer!

Dave Butts- Chairman of America’s National Prayer Committee

www.harvestprayer.com Twitter: @hpmdave

Want to have an incredible prayer life in 2016? Then start and end each day with thanksgiving.  Thank God for the blessings and for getting you through the trials. Having a heart of gratitude will change your life.  I know, because it changed mine.

Tracie Peterson, best-selling author of over 100 Christian fiction novels

TraciePeterson.com

Relentlessly set aside margin in your week for prayer. If you’re struggling with a daily time, just do it as often as you are able – whenever you can get away. And if possible, give yourself enough space in your schedule to pray & worship as long as you feel like it.

Matt Brown – Author of Awakening: How God’s Next Great Move Inspires & Influences Our Lives Today

www.Thinke.org Twitter: @evangelistmatt

Remember that it’s never about obligation; it’s always about invitation. Jesus invites us to be much with Him. The moment this feels like an ‘ought to’ or a ‘should do’ I know I’ve lost sight of the fact that He loved me first and I remind myself of His love and I marvel afresh at the miracle of my salvation. That keeps my prayer life alive, a delight, and full of expectancy. The star-breathing God invites me to partner with Him in the greater Kingdom story and He moves when I pray. What else could be a better use of my time? So grateful.

Susie Larson- Talk Show Host- Live the Promise

www.susielarson.com Twitter: @SusieLarson

Ron Auch-Why did Jesus pray so much? This used to concern me because I thought, If anybody had God figured out, Jesus did, so why did He need to pray so much? One day the Lord just spoke to my heart and said, “Jesus did not pray to figure Me out. Jesus prayed because He had Me figured out.”

Ron Auch- Pray Tell Ministries

www.pray-tell.org

Prayer is getting Gods ideas without the stain of human logic.

Dave Williams- Dave Williams Ministries

www.davewilliams.com

Too often, we make prayer exceptional rather than normal. Make it a habit to end your time with people in prayer. When you share a meal, a meeting, or a conversation with someone, close with “Do you mind if I pray a blessing for you today?” You’ll be surprised how often that turns into a God moment! Even non-believers like to receive prayer.

Rod Loy-Pastor First North Little Rock

www.firstnlr.com Twitter: @PRodLoy

Spend time with Jesus. Intimacy with Jesus creates boldness in prayer. Ask Him to reset your life and bring a reset to this nation.

Nick Hall- Pulse

www.reset2016.com Twitter: @NickHall

Want to have a great prayer life? Think that prayer maybe should first be a “get to” before it is a “have to? Then we are here to help you on your journey. Sign up for an email and let’s go on a journey toward God together.