How to Move God’s Heart

One of the greatest sins in the church is not necessarily
gossip, strife, addictions, adultery or fornication—even though all these
things are sin. What I believe is the greatest sin today, especially in
America, is the sin of prayerlessness or leaving God alone. 

We can easily become caught in the trap where our only
consistent time of prayer is offered before each meal and that’s about it. You
know what I mean by the meal prayers,
don’t you? “God is good; God is great. I’m so hungry I could eat this plate.”
I’ve been so hungry before that sometimes I have felt like eating the plate.

One time when I prayed a quick prayer over my meal, I felt
the Lord say, “Now, Hank, did you mean that from your heart?” Like most of us,
I didn’t mean or even hear what I had prayed. Since then, I always feel
convicted when I pray insincere prayers, even if the food is making my mouth
water.

Prayer, however, is about so much more than that. The truth
is that we need a deep commitment to prayer that goes far beyond our meals.
Additionally, it is far more than praying only when problems arise. I have
found prayer becomes easy when you are in some kind of trouble. It seems like
you have more energy to reach out to God when you need an answer to a difficult
situation. But God has our time consistently, regardless of what circumstances
are present in our lives.

The way to develop this type of personal relationship with
God—the kind that moves His heart—is to set a time and a place to meet Him. The
Lord looks forward to your special time together. You can become determined to
not leave God alone by developing a consistent prayer habit. Give God the
desire of His heart—He wants to be with you, to spend time with you. Be
committed to it until the habit takes a permanent hold in your life.

Talk to the Lord about your desire to be with Him. By
verbalizing your commitment, you remind yourself that to have a fruitful walk
with God, you must find devoted time to fellowship with Him. Imagine what would
happen. If we would refuse to leave God alone that way, miraculous things would
begin to take place.

If you would commit yourself to prayer, you will learn the
secrets to a powerful prayer life. I have learned the most about prayer by
staying with it no matter how I felt or what the present circumstances were.

If you ask Jesus how to pray, He will teach you. Much of my
learning about prayer came from just getting alone with God. When you get alone
with the Lord, He will teach you—if you
are determined to learn.

We do not have to make powerful prayer complicated. After
more than 20 years serving God, I keep it simple. I make God real to me. He is
real to me. And the more real I make Jesus, the more real He becomes in my
life.

Just get alone with the Lord, and He will teach you to pray.
Don’t be discouraged if some of your prayer times with the Lord feel dry or
unproductive. Begin with a hunger to spend time with Him, and the Holy Spirit
will help you succeed.

Adapted from Don’t Leave God Alone by Hank Kunneman, copyright 2008, published by
Charisma House. The Bible is filled with examples of great men and women who
would not leave God alone. Their cries to God changed their lives and the lives
of others and altered the course of history. This book will help you discover
the secrets to powerful prayer that can move God to change even what appears
impossible in your life. To order a copy click on this link.

PRAYER POWER WEEK OF 4/23/2012

Set a time and place to get alone with God this week and ask
the Holy Spirit to teach you how He wants you to pray. Give God the desire of His heart, which is to be with you. Understand that
truth when you enter His presence and unabashedly share your love, gratitude
and commitment to Him. Let Him lead you as you pray for what’s on His heart.
Include praying for worldwide revival, more laborers for the harvest and unity
in the body of Christ. Pray for the peace and protection of Jerusalem, the
persecuted church, the restoration of righteousness in our nation, and the
upcoming elections.  Psalm 122:6; 1
Tim. 2:1-4

To enrich your prayer
life and learn how to strategically pray with power by using appropriate
scriptures, we recommend the following sources by Apostle John Eckhardt: Prayers that Rout Demons, Prayers that Bring Healing, Prayers that Release Heaven on Earth and Prayers that Break
Curses. To order any or all of these click here.