Prayer is, I think, the most overlooked and undervalued practice of the Christian faith, yet it is arguably the most important. We have made it a tradition to pray before our meals and at bedtime, and, being satisfied with that as our total of daily prayer, seem to have forgotten that it is necessary to pray more often that that. We are talking to and having conversations with the creator of the universe! We should want to talk to Him every minute of every day! The privilege of talking to God, our creator, savior, and Daddy, has been given to us, and we are content to talk to him a couple of minutes each day. Why do we settle for so little?
How often do you talk to your friends, or your family? How about your best friend? I imagine you talk to these people pretty often and try to meet them and spend time with them as often as you can. Why should that be any different for God? He is our Daddy, ideally our best friend, and he is with us all the time. We never have to go somewhere to talk to Him. He is there with us always, and He wants to talk to us.
“Even now,” declares the LORD, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.” – Joel 2:12
Many seem to think that God is too busy to listen to our prayers or to care about our desires. That is absolutely false. God loves to talk to us. He cherishes it. Our Father loves us, and He wants to talk to us and He wants us to talk to Him. When I was studying prayer for this post, I found many, many passages from Paul, James, and Matthew commanding the church to pray and emphasizing the importance of communicating with our Daddy. Prayer should not be put off as unimportant when we get busy. It should be at the top of the list.
“Brothers and sisters, pray for us.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:25
“As for other matters, brothers and sisters, pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you.” – 2 Thessalonians 3:1
“O Jerusalem, I have posted watchmen on your walls; they will pray day and night, continually. Take no rest, all you who pray to the LORD.” – Isaiah 62:6
These verses and many more remind us of talking to our Father, and we shouldn’t just do it out of routine, as it so easily becomes. We should want to talk to our Daddy! He is so amazing, so loving, so strong, and so graceful to us. It shouldn’t be with grudging resignation that we sit down in pray, but earnestly and joyfully, thankful to have the privilege of talking with the most wonderful person in all of creation and beyond.
Marilyn Current says
Important reminder! Thank you