How can I distinguish between a prayer burden and my own desire to pray for something?

Just go to the Lord and pray. Do not have your mind made up about what you will pray. Simply go to the Lord and be taught by Him to pray. Just as a little child gradually picks up new words and learns to talk, so little by little you will learn to talk to the Lord. This kind of prayer helps you to grow.

Do not worry about praying for your family. Whether you pray for them or not, the Lord takes care of them. He says to seek the kingdom and righteousness of the Father first; then whatever you need He will add to you (Matt. 6:33).

While I am driving, I want to talk to the Lord, but I don’t know what to say, and it seems as though the Lord is not really there.

Do not exercise your mind so much. Remember you have an inheritance of the Spirit within and the Bible without. These are the unique means by which to contact the Lord. As you are driving and have the desire to contact the Lord, begin to talk to Him in a spontaneous way. Just follow the Spirit within. If you have a sense to thank the Lord, just say, “Lord, thank You.” When you say this, some further feeling will be there. “Lord, thank You that You are so good to me. Thank You that You are now with me. I enjoy Your presence. Thank You, Lord. You are one with me. I am one with You.” To your surprise, all these words will come. This is the moving of the indwelling Spirit. Unbelievers have no such living sense within.

Whatever you are doing, just address the Lord in a talking way. “Lord, I am here again with You. What shall I say, Lord? Thank You for this day. It is a day for me to live Christ. Today I can experience Christ.” Something will come from within because you have the Spirit. Sometimes you may feel dull. Take out your Bible and turn to the portion you have been reading. (It would be helpful for you all to have a pocket version of the Bible at hand all the time.) Do not open it at random. Since the Ephesians training I have been on Philippians, going through it very slowly, perhaps only two or three verses a day. These verses become my prayer. Spontaneously, the verses you are reading through consecutively become your prayer. They will give you prayer for the saints. If you contact the Lord like this, you will have more and more of Him added to your being. This way will cleanse, enlighten, correct, and transform you.

Sometimes I feel I am dishonoring the Lord if I speak to Him in a normal way, in a conversational tone.

In all our daily life we should respect the Lord. The whole day we are to be in His presence, even if we are not praying or reading the Bible. Anywhere and at any time we can talk to Him. The best prayer is not a religious prayer but a talk with the Lord. To pray in a talking way does not dishonor the Lord. If we live a life of constantly respecting Him, however we pray honors Him.

I have gone to the Lord and repented of certain things that happened before I was saved. They still keep coming back. Is this of Satan, or do I need to deal with them further?

No doubt this is of Satan. The principle is found in 1 John 1:9 and 7. Whatever sin you confess before God is cleansed by the blood of Jesus. God is faithful and righteous to forgive us. This is not only a promise but also a speaking of the fact; whenever we confess a sin, we must believe that it was cleansed by God.

Many believers are bothered by sins they have already confessed. Then they confess again. Once you do this, you fall into a snare. If you confess the same sin a second time, it means you do not believe the blood has cleansed you.

I remember when I was young I confessed to the Lord that I had offended someone. According to the word of the New Testament surely I was washed by the blood. But Satan came and said, “No, you did not confess in detail.” I then went back to the Lord and confessed in detail. Again Satan said, “No, you have left out some of the details.” I made a further confession. Then Satan said, “You have confessed, but you were not sincere.” So I told the Lord I was sorry I had not confessed sincerely and asked Him to make me sincere. Again Satan said, “You didn’t say ‘in the name of the Lord Jesus.’ ” Eventually I got clear and told Satan, “Get behind me. Why should I confess more than once when I was washed the first time? The Bible doesn’t say that if you confess your sin in detail, sincerely, and in the name of the Lord Jesus, you will be washed. It only says, if you confess your sins God is faithful, and the blood of Jesus cleanses.” Hallelujah! That shut the door to the enemy.

Do not confess a sin you have already confessed. Satan is subtle. Either he will keep you from confessing, or he will push you to keep confessing the same thing over and over.
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