Can we be honest? Truth is, many of us, myself included, have a bad habit of waiting until we “need God” to pray. As long as everything is going well, there’s no doctors reports to make us cry out, no bills that are making us nervous about what we’re going to do next etc…we’re good. We can talk to God but not so often and even then quite briefly. Which is why I’m fully persuaded God allows a lot of the stuff we endure to come our way, because it sends us running right back to the prayer phone to dial up heaven again! At least in trouble He gets to hear our voice! But should this really be the only time He hears from us? When we're in trouble? And He's the last lifeline left?
Well, at the end of a passage on spiritual warfare and defeating our enemy, the Bible says in Ephesians 6:18 "…pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests." (NIV). It's prayer all day, every day, at any time of the day! Reminds me a lot of the admonishment of 1 Thessalonians 5:17 "Pray without ceasing." In a nutshell: It's staying in contact with the Lord at; “All occasions, with all kinds of prayers, and all kinds of requests."
Notice, we’re charged and challenged to pray all the time, for everyone, because prayer is essential! We’re to always pray, never stop praying and pray all the time! That sounds a lot like prayer being more than just “I’m in trouble Lord, HELP!” Or praying because we have a few moments to spare. The sad thing however, about us as believers is that we tend to have a prayer compartment in our life. We pray in the morning, or maybe in the evening, or over meals. We have prayer meetings. But I think God wants us to take prayer out of that compartment and learn prayer as a lifestyle, not just as an occasional appointment.
The Spirit may be trying to prompt you in that way many times. It's not a little child. It's the Holy Spirit that's saying, "Let's pray. Let's pray." He's trying to initiate it. Pray in the Spirit. But we're so busy! We're running on our list, our schedule, our program and our agenda. We can't hear His promptings. However, we need to be real careful about being so busy that we ignore the promptings of the Holy Spirit to pray and even to intercede for others!
Think about this: Can you imagine how differently Peter’s story may have turned out, if people ignored the prompting to pray? Listen: James had just been executed and Herod was planning to kill Peter in the morning. Now, you’d think Peter would have been up all night praying, but he wasn’t. The Bible says he was SLEEPING! (Acts 12:6, “Then the time came for Herod to bring him out for the kill. That night, even though shackled to two soldiers, one on either side, PETER SLEPT LIKE A BABY” MSG). So where did Peter get such faith? The Bible says: “Peter therefore was kept in prison: BUT PRAYER WAS MADE WITHOUT CEASING OF THE CHURCH UNTO GOD FOR HIM” (Acts 12:5). But you have to see how these intercessors REALLY PRAYED for Peter: The Amplified Bible says, “…FERVENT PRAYER for him was PERSISTENTLY made…”; The Message Bible says, “All the time …Peter was under heavy guard…the church prayed for him MOST STRENUOUSLY “While Peter was being kept in jail, the church NEVER STOPPED PRAYING to God for him.”
We must MAKE time to pray to God on our own behalf, but never forget your brothers and sisters, and even those who are unsaved! They all need your prayers of intercession at all times! Your Unceasing Prayers Are Vital to You and Others! So Never Stop Praying! Who knows who will be saved, delivered, healed, and made whole, just because of your prayers? Who knows who may be encouraged, inspired and empowered because of your prayers? Who knows who may finally get right because of your prayers? Your Prayers Are Powerful! Make Them Your Lifestyle, Not Just a Lifeline for When You’re in Trouble!
When God works on our behalf, He doesn't need us to do a thing. We can use faith three ways; by praying - by speaking - and by acting - in faith. The key is in the name of Jesus Christ. Some of us have to change our way of thinking in order for God to work a change in our lives. Do not get caught up in the how’s, when’s, and whys of God; get caught up in trusting Him. We cannot always choose our circumstances. But we can always choose God with our circumstances. Keep Trusting, Keep Believing and Keep Moving. Thank God for the blessings that He is going to give you - which you know nothing about.
May God release fresh faith and perspective into your soul today. May He strengthen your frame and establish your steps. May He give you fresh vision for your future and divine wisdom for stewarding your "now" moments. May the song in your heart ring louder than the enemy's threat and accusations. There is no one like our God and there's nothing like His love for you. Whenever you feel very distant from God, remember that God is never distant from you. I’d rather spend a lifetime on my knees in prayer than another moment in darkness without God! When my day starts with prayer and ends with prayer, everything in between seems to always work out!
Somebody asked the question today, "How great is our God?" How do you answer that? Who can answer that? At the beginning of each day, I am amazed at just how great our God is. The peace of God is a promise for us every day, claim it, speak it, and live in it. God's presence with us is one of His greatest presents to us. Put it all in God’s hands, all your burdens, problems, your stress and frustrations. Everybody have trouble in their lives. Some try to handle the troubles on their own. Let God fight your battles. He can't lose! Understand it was not you who got you out of that situation; it was God who heard you cry out! Have confidence in Christ to work through your weaknesses. There is nothing that can come against you that God can't make come out for good in your life.
Blessings
J.P. Olson
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