Dr. James and Robby revel in the joy the Jesus has given us the REAL independance with prayer.

So today we’re talking about starting the day with God in prayer, and why we really want to do this. There’s a lot more to this than we sometimes think. Sometimes I think we can dismiss it too quickly because sometimes talking about this can sound, legalistic. Like a bunch of rule we have follow if we’re going to be right with God. But that’s not where we’re going today. Today, it’s like we’re going fishing.

Today on Encouraging Prayer we’re going to talk about keeping, or guarding our hearts. This is such a vital topic—it effects everything we do. Proverbs 4:23 says, “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.”

Today on Encouraging prayer we’re going to talk about something that, if you really think about it, will keep you going back to God again and again.

Today on Encouraging Prayer we’re going to be talking about such a vital topic, especially in the current climate of unrest in our country. We’re going to talk about the unity of prayer.

A prayer style is nothing more and nothing less than our preferred way to pray. We all have certain approaches, and we’ll talk about that today. But the most important thing to realize as we start out is that one approach is not better than another. Each has their own advantages, and I hesitate to say weaknesses because the important thing is that we just pray. And this matters because if you haven’t found the prayer style that works best for you, than you may find prayer to be harder than it should be. So you might even think of these as onramps to prayer, ways to really help you go places as you pray.

God’s Word reminds us in Hebrews 11:6 that God rewards those who diligently seek Him, and that’s a big part of what prayer is. Remember that Jesus said, “Apart from me, you can do nothing.” So this is part of what it means to “abide” in Him, cling to Him, “hang out” with Him even, if you will.

This week James and Robby dive into some quotes and writings from Charles Spurgeon on the topic of prayer.

So often we can feel guilty when it comes to praying because we measure ourselves against verses like 1 Thess. 5:17–“Pray continually”—and we can think, “I’ll never get there.” But it’s so important to understand that we can’t build our prayer lives on legalism, do’s or don’ts, or methods either. It’s got to come from the heart. And the beautiful thing about that is when we go to God and say “Help me do this, help me be real in this” He will help us every time.

One of the greatest struggles many face when it comes to prayer is feeling like they just don't have the time. James Banks and Robby Dilmore tackle that issue in today's episode of Encouraging Prayer.