We must learn to enter God’s presence with the right spirit, approach, and preparation so we can commune with Him and offer effective prayers as God’s priests.
Once we understand that the heart of prayer is communion with God in a unity of love and purpose, how do we begin to pray? Where do we start? We first need to learn how to enter God’s presence with the right spirit, approach, and preparation so that we can have this communion with Him.
1. Reverence for God
2. Holiness and Integrity
3. A Kingdom of Priests
4. Ten Steps To Preparedness in Prayer
Appropriate God’s Grace
Put on Righteousness
Cleanse with the Word
Worship and Praise God
Separate Yourself
Believe
Give God the Glory
Wash in the Word
Remain in the Anointing
PRINCIPLES
1. As believes, we are “ a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God” (1 Peter 2:9).
2. As God’s priests, we are to intercede for others so they will return to God and be coworkers in His purposes.
3. Ten steps of preparedness for entering God’s presence in prayer are:
Appropriate God’s Grace. Acknowledge God’s holiness, turn away from your sins, and be through the blood of Christ.
Put on Righteousness: Appropriate the righteousness of Christ through faith. Live in that righteousness, doing what is right by keeping in step with the spirit.
Put on Truth and Honesty: Be transparent and clean before the Lord, desiring truth in the innermost parts and living with integrity.
Cleanse Yourself with the Word: Before you come before God, make sure that you’ve read the Word, that the Word is in you, and that you are obeying the Word.
Worship and Praise God: Honor and worship God in spirit and in truth (John 4:24-24), acknowledge Him as your all in all.
Separate Yourself: Remove yourself from your normal environment, activities, and distractions. Find the place in God where He meets you by coming to Him with the right heart, attitude, and motives.
Believe: Have faith in God’s power to do what He has promised and in the effectiveness of God’s sacrifice.
Give God the Glory: Confess that God is the One who accomplished your atonement, forgiveness, and reconciliation with Him, and is worthy to be praised. Give to others out of the abundance God has given you.
Wash in the Word: Ask God to fulfill His purposes based on His will and the promises in His Word.
Remain in the Anointing: Remain in a stated of preparedness for prayer. Honor the Lord by reflecting His nature and character in your life.
CONCLUSION
We need to remain in a state of preparedness for prayer by living out the ten steps to entering God’s presence. God is a God of holiness, and we aren’t to approach Him in an offhand or careless way. It is important that we learn what it means to honor the Lord and to reflect His nature and character in out lives. We must always remember that Jesus Christ has made it possible for us to fulfill each of these steps of preparation for prayer.