{"id":177,"date":"2017-01-31T11:40:40","date_gmt":"2017-01-31T11:40:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/nextsteps\/?p=177"},"modified":"2017-01-31T11:41:14","modified_gmt":"2017-01-31T11:41:14","slug":"3-great-things-happen-pray-continually","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/nextsteps\/2017\/01\/3-great-things-happen-pray-continually.html","title":{"rendered":"3 Great Things That Happen When You Pray Continually"},"content":{"rendered":"
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When continual prayer becomes a part of our everyday lives, good things begin to happen. Here are three rewards to look forward to when you pray:<\/p>\n

1. Selflessness.<\/strong> When I talk to people who pray on a regular basis, I hear\u00a0this again and again. They enjoy praying, they look forward to praying because it takes\u00a0the focus off of them. It\u2019s a sign of how has God made us to serve others, that when we\u2019re focused on ourselves for too long, we begin to feel a bit dirty. Praying is like washing the stink of self off of us because we intentionally pray for other people. We feel cleaner, we feel lighter, we feel healthier when it\u2019s not all about us. Selflessness is an incredible reward for prayer.<\/p>\n

2. Peace.<\/strong> A second reward for prayer is peace. The Bible makes this promise specifically in Philippians 4:6-7,<\/p>\n

6\u00a0Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7\u00a0And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.<\/em><\/p>\n

When you pray, many times you pray because you\u2019re anxious. You worry. Some of you think that worrying is a spiritual gift, but it\u2019s not. When you pray, and when you pray the right way you experience peace, because you remind yourself that God is on his throne, that God is in charge, that God\u2019s got all this, and you don\u2019t need to worry. The insurance industry generates\u00a0billions and billions of dollars a year and it all sells one primary thing: peace of mind. The Bible tells us that then we pray, we\u2019ll have not just a peace of mind but a peace from God. That\u2019s an incredible reward.<\/p>\n

3. Answered prayer.<\/strong>\u00a0The last reward is a long-term reward and it\u2019s an incredible one. When we pray, the Sovereign God of the universe answers on our behalf. The more we consume the Word, the more our prayers will become biblical and the more answers we\u2019ll begin to see. Look at what Jesus says in Matthew 7.<\/p>\n

11\u00a0If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!<\/em> Matthew 7:11<\/p>\n

God wants to give us good gifts, he wants to answer our prayers, but God can\u2019t answer prayers that you don\u2019t ask for. And remember he\u2019s a good Father. Just like you\u2019re a good parent and you wouldn\u2019t give your kids a stick of dynamite even if they asked for it, God doesn\u2019t just want to give you any gift you ask for, he wants to give you good gifts.<\/p>\n

Do you want to know what to pray for and how to pray better? Consume the Word.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When continual prayer becomes a part of our everyday lives, good things begin to happen. Here are three rewards to look forward to when you pray: 1. Selflessness. When I talk to people who pray on a regular basis, I hear\u00a0this again and again. They enjoy praying, they look forward to praying because it takes\u00a0the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":607,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[97,96,91],"class_list":["post-177","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-next-steps","tag-peace","tag-pray","tag-prayer"],"yoast_head":"\n3 Great Things That Happen When You Pray Continually - Next Steps<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"When continual prayer becomes a part of our everyday lives, good things begin to happen. 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