prayer

"When we believe that God lovingly seeks our best and that He is vastly more sensitive to us than we are to ourselves, we will seek to hear Him. When we doubt God's intentions, His intimate caring, or His ability to speak directly and work powerfully in our lives, we may go through the motions...but [we] won't be listening expectantly for God." (Martha Thatcher, as quoted by Judith Couchman in "His Gentle Voice")

I wonder how much of the lack of power in my prayers have been due to a lack of faith in what God can do in our day and age? Definitely way too much. I want to learn how to pray with expectancy and not put God in a little box.

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"The more we pray, the more we sense our need to pray. And the more we sense a need to pray, the more we want to pray." (Jim Cymbala with Dean Merril, "Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire")

Prayer is birthed from an environment of felt need. When God's people humble themselves and cry out to God out of the realization of their need for God, God honors and answers prayer.