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July 23, 2019

Pastor Steve’s Blog July 23, 2019 I wanted to share with you my opening story and a few of my comments from Sunday’s sermon on prayer for my blog this week. “During the offseason, one leading NFL quarterback took his spiritual life to the next level. Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson, who set records as a rookie and will be going into his third season this fall, was submerged in the Jordan River, the same place the Bible records Jesus was baptized, during his first trip to the Holy Land co-sponsored by America's Voices in Israel. “It is simply overwhelming," Watson explained. "To be baptized in the waters of the Jordan River, sail on the Sea of the Galilee, and visit one of the first towns where Jesus preached his Gospel – I am truly in awe of this wonderful land and the wonderful people who live here." What exactly is prayer? I briefly talked about this in my blog this past week. I mentioned Dr. Myles Monroe, who was a friend of mine at ORU and later became a celebrated mission evangelist and author. He was right when he said, “Prayer is not just an activity, a ritual or an obligation. It is not just simply begging God to do what we want him to do. Here is the key! Prayer is communion and communication with God…that touches God’s heart. (Myles Munroe “Prayer” Whitaker House, p. 22). But in order to really know Him, and develop a personal relationship with our Savior and Healer, then prayer must become a habit. When you understand that the true essence of prayer is about communion with God…about being in His presence…and communication with God, then you understand prayer is a habit that will put demands on our time every day. Real communion prayer with God has to be intentional. It is not something that can be done in only a few minutes while we are rushing from one place to another, or while the commercials are playing on TV between shows. A few practical things we can do as we practice our intentional prayer: 1. Schedule a daily appointment with God. 2. Find a special place to pray where you and God meet. 3. Repent of your sin as you begin your time of daily prayer. 4. Expect an answer from God. 5. Give God time to work after you finish praying.