To Be A Light

The subject of prayer has been weighing heavily on my heart and mind lately. Prayer is one of the most important parts of a Christian life and the Bible tells us in no uncertain terms that we are expected to pray. It is not a request, it is a command.

"pray without ceasing” - 1 Thessalonians 5:17
"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;” - Philippians 4:6
"Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart,” - Luke 18:1
"praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints” - Ephesians 6:18
"I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting;” - 1 Timothy 2:8
"Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” - James 5:16

The problem is many Christians rarely pray or when they do, it’s more a vain repitition of routine, memorized prayers rather than an actual deep and meaningful conversation with God.

I admit I am guilty of not praying nearly as much as I should. I want to. I keep meaning to. I just keep putting it off. I think about praying and then I let other things distract me and use up my time. Somehow, I never actually get around to doing it. I think that’s why it’s weighing so heavily on me. The Holy Spirit is working within me and He’s leading me to grow in my relationship with the Lord. The message is coming through loud and clear. God wants me to talk to Him.

Because of this, I have been working out a plan to increase not only the quantity of prayer in my daily life, but the quality of my prayer time as well. I want to develop the habit of praying without ceasing and taking everything to God in prayer.

To develop the quality of my prayers, I plan to add extra time to the end of my Bible reading each day. This time will be for the purpose of sitting quietly, talking to God, and listening for whatever He might want to say to me. I want to learn to hear Him speaking to my Heart and through His Word.

To develop my constant attitude of prayer, I plan to begin developing the habit of praying for everyone I see or think of during the day. When I see the mailman walking down the street, I’ll say a prayer for him. When I see the neighbor mowing her lawn, I’ll pray for her. When I read about a politican in the news, I’ll pray for him. When I read someone’s blog and they are having a difficult time, I’ll pray for them. If I read that someone has great news, I’ll pray and thank God for the blessing he sent their way. If I read about terrorists, I’ll pray for God to lead them away from their plans of destruction. I’m literally going to pray for everyone that crosses my mind, however briefly.

Starting right now, I plan to be a Prayer Warrior, standing in the gap for a world living in pain and tough times. If you would like me to pray for you, too, just post a comment or send me an email and I’ll add you to my list of people to pray for. If you don’t want to give me the details of your situation, that’s OK. God already knows the details. Just give me your first name and ask me to pray for you. I promise you, I will.

(0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks •