For Your Benefit
John 10:14-15 (AMP) I am the Good Shepherd, and I know [without any doubt those who are] My own and My own know Me [and have a deep, personal relationship with Me]— even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father—and I lay down My [very own] life [sacrificing it] for the benefit of the sheep.
Jesus said He is the Good Shepherd and He knows who His sheep are. The ones who have a deep and personal relationship with Him. I know it is common to feel rather awkward when going to pray to a God that you cannot see in the physical. A couple of years ago my 8-year-old went to pray for 10 minutes and after 2 minutes he said he prayed for all he knew to pray for. This is not just because he was 8, this is normal for adults too. If you don't regularly pray and talk to God, 5 minutes of prayer will feel like an hour. However, if you are doing something you love, an hour of joy will feel like 5 minutes. This is where discipline comes in.
Just showing up and sharing your heart with God like you would a best friend who would never ever share your secrets is what your prayer time is all about. Of course we pray for the needs of others but the idea is to grow your relationship with your Creator! Jesus said it was to our benefit that He lay down His life, that we are better off because of His sacrifice. How can that be? Because when He left the earth, He sent the Holy Spirit to be with us. Now we have access to our Heavenly Father all the time. We can get to a place where we desire to be in prayer, our spirit will long for more of Jesus. We told our son to tell God how hard it is to continue praying, that he needed help and allow God to strengthen him in this area. God already knows all of our thoughts so telling Him you are bored in your prayer time is okay! He knows what you're thinking. Ask Him to give you a new desire to pray for others and pray for the needs of our nation and our world. Ask Him to speak to you daily and show you who to bless and minister to. It's the little things that you can do for someone that will change their entire day. An encouraging text message can be an answered prayer to someone feeling hopeless. We have the benefit of sharing Christ with people who are hurting and have no clue where to find someone who cares to listen. Let's open our eyes beyond what we can see and look at others through the eyes of Christ. Allow the Holy Spirit to prompt you and speak life to those in need.
1 John 5:14-15 (TLB) And we are sure of this, that he will listen to us whenever we ask him for anything in line with his will. And if we really know he is listening when we talk to him and make our requests, then we can be sure that he will answer us.
