Monday, October 12, 2009

The Importance of Prayer

Do we understand the importance of prayer?

After a long day of healing people, Jesus arose before dawn and went off by himself to pray. He needed to spend time with the Father in order to do the work of His ministry.(Mark 1:35)

The followers of Jesus were gathered in an upper room. They were praying and pleading with God. They even prayed about who should be added to the remaining eleven disciples. They left the final decision up to God. (Acts 2:13-14,24)

Each year since two churches moved and merged, our congregation has a 24 hour prayer vigil at the beginning of October. We just had our third one. Our pastor has made this month-a time of evangelism.

Toward the end of this month, on two Wednesday evenings, several of our congregation will do a prayer walk through the adjoining neighborhoods.

Due to some health issues, I haven’t gone on one of these. Those who are unable to participate in these walks stay at the church and pray for the safety of those who can as well as other needs.

The apostle Paul tells us to pray continually. I have been taught that means we are to be in an attitude of prayer at all times.

As a child, I was taught to say the prayer, ”Now, I lay me down to sleep, I praise the Lord my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord, my soul should take. Bless. .
As a young mother, I chose not to teach that prayer to my son. I chose instead to teach him to pray from our hearts.

As a senior citizen whose son is grown, I wonder if I made the right choice. There is a point of theology in the children’s prayer. But I didn’t think of that in the early 1970’s.

We have gotten away from the practice of seeking God and His guidance for our lives. We have to ask for forgiveness for our lack of respect for our Heavenly Father.

4 comments:

  1. Thank you so much for your words. I feel them taking root in my soul. God bless. -Heather

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  2. I'm of the belief that a good blend of theology and personal prayer is healthiest. I do believe in reciting age-old prayers but I find myself mostly praying personably to God and find those to be the most intimate, bare-my-soul to Him ones.

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  3. Hi Quiet Spirit -

    I grew up with the children's prayer you posted, as well as praying from the heart.

    As an adult, I hadn't prayed that prayer in a long time. When I went to bed just last night, it came from deep inside. For last night, it was the prayer of my heart.

    Blessings,
    Susan :)

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  4. It's no excuse, but we allow ourselves to get too busy. But if we stay in constant communion with Him for guidance, our lives are richer and we fulfill our calling. Blessings to you and your readers:)

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I would be honored to hear what you think about this.

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