The "Mansion of Prayer"

The Christian life is like swimming upstream and all you have are two strokes. Think about that. If you had to swim upstream against a very strong current, how well would you do? What if we tied one of your hands behind your back? Now, how well would you do? At best, you might maintain but you certainly would make no progress. What if we tied both of your hands behind your back? You would do nothing but get carried backward by the current.

The same is true about living the Christian life. It’s tough. The current of the world system and our own depravity and sinful desires is strong. The only way to make any progress is to use our only two spiritual strokes…prayer and Bible study. Take away one of these strokes and at best we will only maintain without making any progress. Take away both of these strokes, and we will drift backwards into a horrible spiritual pit. Why is the stroke of prayer so important? Here are just a few reasons:

• It is a channel of forgiveness (I John 1:9)
• It is a weapon against temptation (Matthew 26:41)
• It is a means to fullness of joy (John 16:24)
• It is a reliever of worry (Philippians 4:6-7)
• It is a means to help in times of need (Hebrews 4:16)
• It is a securer of wisdom in times of trouble (James 1:5)
• It is a weapon against the snares of the end times (Luke 21:34-36)
• It is a foundation for spiritual warfare (Ephesians 6:18)
• It is a securer of laborers (Luke 10:2)
• It is a preparation for witness (Colossians 4:2-3)
• It is a means to pleasing God (Revelation 5:8; Proverbs 27:9)

Imagine prayer as a huge and wonderful mansion that you and I have the privilege to explore anytime we desire and as often as we need to. That really is what prayer is. People see prayer as “Asking and Receiving.” But the truth is that “asking and receiving” is just a small part of prayer. I like to define prayer as ‘hanging out with God’! Yesterday we started a new 5-week series at Grace Church as together we now explore the 5 rooms of the mansion of prayer. With each room we will be identifying a key to unlock that room to greater effectiveness. The rooms include:

• The Foyer: Place of Confession
• The Throne Room: Place of Adoration
• The Trophy Room: Place of Thanksgiving
• The Guest Room: Place of Intercession
• The Living Room: Place of Petition

Welcome to the Mansion of Prayer! Come on in and stay awhile!