In everything give thanks: for this is the
will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
I Thessalonians 5:16-18
Praying always means "every time you pray". Prayer is one of the most powerful weapons in a Christian's arsenal (see Ephesians 6:10-18). We can pray without ceasing (see I Thessalonians 5:14-23). It is possible to be in a state (mode, frame of mind) of prayer virtually all of our waking moments. Let's examine some of those states of prayer.
We are dismayed beyond description if in our hurry, we forget to brush our teeth (a necessary part of our daily personal hygiene). Yet, do we stop to consider how very little time we actually spend in prayer? Sadly for the welfare of our spiritual existence, we spend less time in prayer than we do anything else.
We place physical exercise at the top of the list of necessities in our life: taeboing, going to the gym or "Sweatin' to the Oldies". For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto ALL things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come. I Timothy 4:8. While there is certainly nothing wrong with exercise in moderation, when we exercise our physical bodies but don't have time to exercise our spiritual being, something is out of balance and adjustments are needed.
Too many of us push ourselves to the point of exhaustion in trying to maintain an image before the world. We fall into bed at night, and rush out of bed in the mornings. Going to church on the weekend and mid-week services are not the only times we need to have contact with God.
Here's a question we need to consider: do we tithe of our daily time? If we tithed to Him of just our waking time, we would spend ninety-six minutes of EVERY day in communion with God, through prayer, study, worship, ministry--rendering unto Him a portion of that which He has given to us.
"What? Who am I kidding???" you might ask.
Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. Malachi 3:8-10.If you do not start your day with prayer, I challenge you to try something. If you don't think five minutes is a long time (so why can't we spare just five minutes, eh??) sit and look at a clock for five minutes. Don't do anything else while you are watching it tick away the seconds for those five minutes. A lot can be accomplished in only five minutes. And I assure you, there is not a better way to start the day than spending a few minutes in prayer. Start this new discipline in your life with only five minutes. I promise, you will come to know, for yourself, the difference those five little minutes spent with the Lord can mean. Remember, This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24.
I assure you, those moments will soon become a most vital part of your every day. Spend those few moments every morning in prayer, rejoicing that it is another day of His mercies toward us: It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22,23.
There is the "prayerful state of mind" as we go about our business of the day. That's right, prayerful state of mind. Never allowing ourselves to forget that we are witnesses of Jesus Christ and that which He has wrought in our lives. We need to keep the kind of open relationship with Our Heavenly Father, that we can go to prayer at any given moment of the day. The Bible tells us to ...be instant in season, out of season... II Timothy 4:2. It's not talking just about preaching--how prepared can any preacher be if he doesn't spend time in prayer and study? The same goes for the rest of us, too.
We travel the highways to and from work, talking on our cell phones, listening to the radio. We wonder why we "can't put out the power of God" and it's because we haven't put any in. We're not plugged in to The Power Source, my friends. We get out according to what we put in. Any medical doctor in the land will tell you that diet is one of the determining factors of our physical health; the same thing goes for our spiritual health. I can't very well expect to get chicken and dumplings, if I never add chicken to the pot, can I?
Even as we go down the highways of this land, we can be in a prayerful mode or state of mind. As we run the vacuum cleaner, fold the clothes, prepare the meals, wait for our flight at the airport, stand at the copier--we can express through our thoughts our love and our needs to the Lord Jesus Christ. That's a prayerful state of mind. Certainly, it's not the same as the dedicated prayer time when we are "shut into our closets" so to speak, but it's keeping the lines of communication open between us and Our Father. And I assure you of one thing, a prayerful state of mind means we are in a position of readiness when things come against us during the day. A prayerful state of mind will keep us in the "right frame of mind". We won't be so apt to be caught off guard when situations arise.
There are times during our days when something comes down the pike and we have to go into immediate prayer about it--the emergencies of life. We get a phone call or an e-mail or a letter, in which someone states a need that calls us to "storm the gates of Heaven". Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. Matthew 18:19. Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me. Psalm 66:20.
There is the "of one mind and one accord" state of prayer: "not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together...". (Hebrews 10:25). Whether we are in a church building or holding a "prayer meeting" in someone's home, we have met together for one purpose: to learn from one another, to encourage one another, to pray and praise the Lord Jesus Christ. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. Matthew 18:20.
As we read the Word of God, we find numerous scriptures that tell us Jesus withdrew from the crowds and went, alone, to pray. This was His time of communicating privately with the Father. Being continually in ministry to others, these times alone with the Father were when Jesus could be ministered to, when He could be strengthened and renewed, both physically and spiritually.
The most EFFECTIVE (and victorious) Christian life is one wherein a person recognizes their need to be alone with God. It's a period of time when we shut out all else that is going on about us. We can go boldly before the Throne of Grace and pour out our hearts to Him. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. Matthew 6:6. It's not a time for show, it's a time of "hiding away" with the Lord.
At first, this may be the hardest kind of praying to accomplish. So many things are demanded of us--so many encroachments on our time. Yet, it is of extreme importance that we find some time to "steal away" and pray, every day. EVERY day. In the beginning, it may take a strong discipline to set aside those moments when we can meditate upon the things of God, to spend time in the Word, to make supplication for our loved ones and ourself. But nothing we could do in our lives is more vital than spending time in prayer. Prayer is powerful--prayer changes things.
"Prayer" Copyright © 2000 by Patricia Sikes.
All Rights Reserved.
As for me, I will call upon God; and the Lord shall save me. Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice. Psalm 55:16,17.
Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms. Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. James 5:13-16.
And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. Matthew 21:22.
Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6,7.
For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil. I Peter 3:12.
If you have been blessed, give God the Glory!
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