Ingredients Essential to Prayer

Each year we add something new to the Labor of Love event.  So, this year I thought it might be nice to have an area where we can blog about prayer.  It is sure to boost our faith as we prepare to submit our prayer requests to God this Labor Day.  

Let’s get started by considering what ingredients are essential to prayer.  

#1 Believe God Exists

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.  (Hebrews 11:6)

I first met Jesus in 1975.  Prior to that time, I believed in God, but didn’t understand much about Jesus; until my sister explained sin to me.  A friend of mine told me that I would go to Hell if I didn’t know Jesus, and I was irritated by her statement.  I didn’t think I had done anything terribly wrong to deserve Hell; till I heard about God’s holiness and the sacrifice that was necessary to reconnect me to Him.   

His act was very personal, and as my sister went on to explain, God would have sent Jesus to die for me, even if I was the only person on earth. It was that important for Jesus to be in relationship with me.  Hearing her words, the Holy Spirit revealed Himself to me for the first time.  That evening in October,  I received life!  You see, I had known there was a God, but I really did not know Him. 

My walk with Jesus hasn’t been flawless--far from it, but it has been a steady progressive movement toward Him.  Like Job, after the troubles I have faced, I can say, “My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you.”  (Job 42:5) 

I suppose trouble has a way of working God’s truths deep within our souls.   Honestly, I would not have survived, nor be thriving today if I didn’t know Jesus.


What about you?