8 Essential Ingredients For Daily Prayer (Part 3)

I trust you are not tired of me saying this teaching is NOT a formula, but I do hope that you are seeing the progression in the ingredients. May the Holy Spirit confirm in your heart that these ingredients are essential if you are to develop a love relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.
Our last 2 ingredients were based on Psalm 100:3 THANKSGIVING & PRAISE.  King David must have been thinking of the Tabernacle – that we must enter the Gate and experience the truth of the Brazen Altar (cleansing) and the Brazen Laver (washing by the Word Eph. 5:26).  We then go into the Holy Place (Court) and experience the truths expressed in the pieces of furniture there, but that was as far of the Old Testament saints could go (except for the High Priest once a year!).  I am so glad that when Jesus was crucified the Veil that was before the Holy of Holies was ripped from top to bottom and New Covenant believers can now enter in and meet with the Lord who dwells between the Wings of the Cherubim on the Mercy Seat and WORSHIP (5) the Lord.
It is so interesting that in John 4 Jesus said that the Father is seeking Worshippers!  This will be our permanent joy when we enter heaven. One of the main meaning of worship is “to kiss”.  I said in the last blog, that Confession, Surrender, Thanksgiving, Praise should produce something in our hearts – it is a spirit of Worship.  We must prepare our hearts with the first 4 ingredients to worship, love, adore and magnify Jesus.  We can say “I keep falling in love with Him over and over again”. Remember – “Prayer is the intimate communication between two lovers”.  Let us fall in love with Jesus more and more and more – Amen ?
These 5 Ingredients are all very personal between you and the Lord.   Now we change the emphasis in prayer when we come to the 6th ingredient. INTERCESSION – Praying on behalf of others.  Ezekiel says (22:30) God is looking for people to stand in the gap and pray for others.
Do you have an intercession list? I recommend you prepare one. Have 4 columns:

Put your family members on the list, your Leaders (please add my name, I want all the prayer I can receive).  Put your unsaved friends & colleagues on the list and pray for them daily. You will be surprised how quickly the list will grow!   I have a Pastor friend who has so many on his list, he broke it up into 7 days, and he regularly prays for me on Thursdays!  Please note the 4th column, we then have more to thank the Lord (Thanksgiving – 3) both when we record the answer, and review the list at other times.  Remember He not only hears but answers our prayers!
Most Christians have little or no structure to their praying, and it is not surprising their prayer life is so unfulfilling.  If you are convinced you can see truth and the definite progression and you decide to use these ingredients, for the first few days it will seem to be somewhat mechanical to you. When it becomes part of your life you will easily and smoothly transition from one ingredient to the next.
In our next blog we will look at the last 2 essential ingredients.   May I say now that even though you may have a “Prayer language” speaking in tongues is not one of the 8 ingredients.   Of course, in all these areas, there are times – as the Apostle Paul says in Rom. 8:26 – we do not know how to pray, and what an opportunity to then use our prayer language!  Some believers just use their prayer language even thoughtlessly, remember, Ps. 66:18  If we have sin in our hearts God is not listening.