Focused Prayer

    Focused prayer takes time. We need to take time to slow down our
thought processes and bring all of us, body, soul, mind, and spirit
into a common purpose, focusing on God.
    We each have to develop, our own unique approach to the throne of
God. Some of the common things that people do to prepare for focused
prayer, involve Bible reading, worship, meditating on the Word, getting
away by yourself, closing doors and windows(if your inside)etc. These
things allow us to focus on our visit with God, before His thrown.
    When people get an invitation to visit, The Queen of England, they
don't grab their work clothes and go visit. They prepare themselves to
enter the presence of The Queen. They are bathed, they are properly
dressed, and they have practiced their curtsy, if a woman, or bow, if
a man, so that they are prepared for The Queen.
    There is nothing wrong with rushed prayers, or hurried prayers, these
too have their place, in our lives, but at least once or twice a week, we
need to totally focus on time alone with God.
    We can see in scripture that Jesus would do these focused prayers
often before anyone else got up. Mark 1:35 is an example of Jesus
getting up early and going out to a lonely place to pray for a while.
    Develop a routine that helps you bring your mind into focus on God.
for me, that means time reading God's Word, either singing praises or
listening to praise music, and then quieting myself down and not only
speaking to God, but, allowing Him to speak to me.
    You may fix a place up for your focused prayers. I knew a minister
that changed a walk-in closet into his prayer closet. It had a small desk
and chair, with His favorite old Bible on the desk. There were pillows
and cushions for the floor. He told me that he wanted to be able to pray
prostrate on the floor, kneeling, or sitting depending on what God lead
him to do that day.
    Praying with a focus on a particular subject or wanting God to show
you His plans for the coming days. Helps us, as His People, to keep our
focus on God and His kingdom, and takes our focus off of ourselves.
"Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face, and the 
                     things of earth, will grow strangely dim. 
                        In the light of His Glory and Grace."

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