Topic: To Pray Effectively, Get to Know God [RICK WARREN Devotional 12 August 2021]

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To Pray Effectively, Get to Know God

BY RICK WARREN — AUGUST 12, 2021

“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.”

Romans 1:20 (NIV)The fruitfulness of your prayers doesn’t depend on how much you know about prayer but on how much you know about God. The more you understand God, the more effective your prayers are going to be.

More important than learning all about prayer is understanding more about God. It starts with knowing that God is multidimensional. That means that God is in the past, present, and future. He’s on Earth and in the spirit world.

Here are a few ways you can see God’s multidimensional character.

You see it in God’s creation.
The God who created a multidimensional world and universe is a multidimensional Creator. “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse” (Romans 1:20 NIV).

You can learn a lot about God just by looking at nature. For instance, you know that God likes variety, and he is organized, creative, and powerful. Creation is complex, so you know God has to be even more complex.

You see it in Jesus’ incarnation.
John 1:14 says, “The Word became a human being and, full of grace and truth, lived among us” (GNT).

If God had wanted to communicate to ants, he would’ve become an ant. If he had wanted to communicate to cows, he would’ve become a cow. But God wanted to communicate with and love human beings, so he became one of us.

Jesus is bound by neither space nor time, because he is multidimensional: “Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come” (Revelation 1:4 NIV).

You see it in how the Holy Spirit moves.
“The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit” (John 3:8 NIV).

You can’t put the Holy Spirit in a box! You can’t control him. He’s like the wind. You don’t know where it comes from, and you don’t know where it’s going. He moves in dimensions we don’t move in.

Don’t let this be the end of your study about God’s multidimensional character. Knowing God is a lifelong pursuit—one that will make your life sweeter and more meaningful each day.PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor RickTalk It Over

• What are some observations about creation that show you other aspects of God’s character?
• Does knowing that there are dimensions of God that you cannot understand make you more or less eager to know him better? Why?
• How can you get to know God better?

Have you trusted Jesus Christ for your salvation? The Bible says you can only get to heaven by trusting in God through his Son, Jesus Christ. And you don’t have to earn God’s love or work your way into heaven. The Bible says, “It is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9 NIV).

If you haven’t trusted in Jesus and committed to following him, why wait any longer? If you’re ready to step across that line and make a decision to believe in Jesus Christ and follow him, pray this prayer:

“Dear Jesus, you have promised that if I believe in you, everything I’ve ever done wrong will be forgiven, I will learn the purpose of my life, and one day you will accept me into your eternal home in heaven.

“I confess my sin, and I believe that you are my Savior. You have promised that, if I confess my sin and trust you, I will be saved. I trust you when you say that salvation comes by grace, through faith, and not by anything I do. I receive you into my life as my Lord. Today I’m turning over every part of my life to your management. You have the right to call the shots in my life.

“Jesus, I want to use the rest of my life to serve you instead of serving myself. I commit my life to you and ask you to save me and accept me into your family. In your name I pray. Amen.”

If you just prayed to accept Jesus, please email me at Rick@PastorRick.com and let me know about it. I’d like to send you some free materials to help you start your journey with Jesus.