Persistent Motivation #3: Prayer depends upon God to meet our needs.
Jesus says we are to pray “Give us day by day our daily bread” (Luke 11:3). We pray to acknowledge our dependence on God for all things. God is the giver of all good things. James 1:17 reminds us that every good thing in our life is of His mercy. When we need something, we call on His name. God is glorified when we come to Him to meet our needs.
Whatever growth we have in five years or ten years, I want to be able to look back on this and say, “God did this.” If someone asks how our church has grown, I don’t want to point to a strategy but say God did it. Jesus said in Matthew 16:18, “I will build My church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” I trust Jesus to keep that promise. I just need to be faithful to Him.
Persistent Motivation #4: Prayer gives us cleansing from our sin.
Jesus said we are to pray, “Forgive us our sins, For we also forgive everyone that is indebted to us.” This is similar to Matthew’s version of the Model Prayer in Matthew 6:12, “And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors.” Most of us are familiar with today’s verse. Let’s apply this verse, today, in our life.
When we carry around unconfessed sin, we suffer, we lose fellowship with the Lord. That’s how David felt. He found an electric joy as he finally confessed through prayer. Consider reading Psalm 32:1-6, it will really encourage you.