You can't pay any attention to folks who try to discourage you. There are always those around who will criticize God's people and try to cause trouble.
"Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He will give you the desires and secret petitions of your heart" (Ps. 37:4 AMP). This is one way to have prevailing prayer in your life - delight yourself in the Lord.
You can't pay any attention to folks who try to discourage you. There are always those around who will criticize God's people and try to cause trouble. But in the first few verses of Psalm 37 we are told to, "fret not...because of evildoers, neither be envious against those who work unrighteousness...for they shall soon be cut down" (vs. 1,2, AMP). Unrighteous people won't survive! The only way to survive today is to live for God.
When David was dancing with joy before the Lord, he was dancing so high that his skirts were coming up and he was showing his legs. His wife, Michal, was watching from the window, and the Bible says she despised him in her heart.
When David came in all happy and glowing, she said to him, "Well, didn't the king show himself to the maidens of Israel today?" She despised him because of his joy (see 2 Samuel 6:14-20).
In spite of those who may criticize, delight yourself in the Lord and live a life of prayer. It's not how much time you spend on your knees, but it's how much of your life is a prayer to God. First Thessalonians 5:16 tells us to rejoice evermore.
Regardless of circumstances, we ought to rejoice in the Lord. Habakkuk 3 says,
Though the fig tree does not blossom, and there be no fruit on the vines; [though] the product of the olive fail, and the fields yield no food; though the flock be cut off from the fold, and there be no cattle in the stalls; Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will exult in the [victorious] God of my salvation!Be happy when you talk with the Lord - enjoy your time with Him. Your prayer life doesn't have to be a ritual. You don't have to say the same things over and over. Sometimes you may just want to praise God. Sometimes you may want to talk about kingdom work.
(Hab. 3:17, 18 AMP)
Other times you may just want to fellowship with Him. And you can fellowship with God just going down the street in your car. But it is so important to enjoy your time with God. Delight yourself in His presence.
No matter what happens, God's children ought to be glad in the Lord. God wants us to prosper. But even if we had to walk barefooted and ragged and if we owed everybody in the world and had all kinds of trouble - we've still got eternal life!
We are going to heaven where there is no sighing, crying, or dying. There's no death, no pain, and no sorrow. And it will last forever and forever. So we have good reason to delight ourselves in the Lord. We need to keep that blessed hope before us. "Even so, come, Lord Jesus," should be our cry (see Revelation 22:20).
Excerpt permission granted by John Osteen Publications