Colossians 4:2 Be earnest and unwearied and steadfast in your prayer [life], being [both] alert and intent in [your praying] with thanksgiving.
Earnest, unwearied, steadfast, alert and intent. Get the point? There are certain things in our lives that require our full attention. Many of you have jobs that require you to concentrate and pay attention to every detail in order to do it right. If you don't focus on what you're doing, someone could get hurt, or you could get fired. Now I'm not saying that God is going to fire you because you are not serious enough when you pray, but someone could get hurt! That's right, and that someone could be you! Prayer is essential, and it is critical that we are sincere when we pray, and that we have our ears open as well. Let's not forget that God knows the end of our day before our day begins, and to be insincere in our time with Him could cause us to miss out on some very important wisdom and guidance from the Good Shepherd. Let's not be half-hearted with something of such tremendous value and worth. Don't pray just to feel better about yourself because you prayed. Pray with a steadfast desire to know Him better and be alert to His wisdom for you as He speaks into your heart through the Spirit and through His Word. I challenge you today to pray with a sincerity and intent as if it is the most important thing that you will do today, because when it comes down to it......it really is. Amen.
Yes heartfelt prayer will bring changes. The question is how do we know when we are praying fully . As I have learned and am still learning look at how long you pray. Was it 5 minutes or 10 minutes? Did it seem like an hour? Or did it seem like no time had passed. We need to realize that when we pray in Gods will the time will seem as if it did not exist. One second we start to pray and suddenly a half hour or hour has gone by. When this happens the distractions are under control because as soon as I pray the questions come to mind immediately. Am I praying right, Is God hearing, How long have I prayed, What do I pray next, Am I too loud, Am I too silent, Should I pray in the spirit , Should I make a list. if these kind of thought come to mind I would say we are getting closer to what God wants us to pray the faster the distractions come. Then suddenly there are no more distractions and we find we have been praying for a long time. But our long time is short in Gods time. Jesus prayed all night. Let that be a goal to work up to. Does anybody else feel this way when praying? Just curious.
ReplyDeleteI also believe that sincerity is a must while praying. I believe that we can reach this sincere place with thanksgiving. To me to be sincere is to honest and true or real with yourself and another. Actually, it's easier said thbn done sometimes but critical for a healthy relationship with yourself and others. A cold heart is very insincere and doesn't want to be nice. But a heart warmed by the presence of God will cause the insincere to be sincere. The benifits of being sincere with God is great and very rewarding. He desires us to be sincere so we can grow and give Him glory.
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