I remember the late Ern Baxter telling about a series of meetings he preached as a guest speaker in the San Francisco Bay area. At the end of each meeting the pastor of the church called the people to come forward to pray. After a few nights of this, Ern asked the pastor the purpose of this interesting practice. "Well, you know, Baxter," he replied, "Our people don't pray very much." Do you pray very much? Today, let's begin a four-part series on the subject of prayer, beginning with today's passages:

For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations. Psalm 100:5

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23

One of the best ways to get to know God better is to spend time with Him in prayer. How do you think about God? Do you think of Him as your Judge? Do you pray as though He doesn't want to give you what you want and so you attempt to convince Him? Today's passages remind us that God is good. He's loving. He's merciful. He's faithful. When you pray and ask God to help you, think about His character. When you remember these things, you can pray expecting an answer.

God wants to answer your prayers because He loves you and cares about what happens to you...and that is very Good News!