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† Isn't it interesting how we talk about prayer but we don't do it a lot? Consider this. How much time do you spend sleeping? Praying? Not a fair comparison? So then, how much time do you sit in front of a TV? How much time praying? And I guess the real question is this, "Isn't God at least as important as that TV program?" † No, He is infinitely more important! † What this means, then, is that we should look for ways to encourage more prayer time. † Prayer should be a natural part of our everyday life, it should be something that we 'drop into' at a moment's notice. Remember when Nehemiah went before the king of Assyria? He was in anguish that his homeland had yet to be rebuilt, and he wanted to go home. But he was a cupbearer to the king and he had specific obligations to meet. Besides, it was extremely dangerous to have a 'sad face' in court. A sad face usually meant some sort of plot to assassinate the king! So the king confronted him; Nehemiah 2:3-4 3I said to the king, "Let the king live forever. Why should my face not be sad when the city, the place of my fathers' tombs, lies desolate and its gates have been consumed by fire?" 4Then the king said to me, "What would you request?" So I prayed to the God of heaven. † What did Nehemiah do? He prayed to God! He sent a quick prayer heavenwards right on the spot! Did the king know he was praying? Probably not, Nehemiah likely just closed his eyes, took a deep breath and prayed quickly while he was doing so. † What can we learn from this? Always have a prayer ready on your lips! Always be ready to open up that communication line with God. You never know when it will be needed. † But how can you be always ready to pray? Pray as much as you can, this practice of prayer will encourage you to pray more. Think about prayer often, too. As you pray more often and as you think about prayer then that is what you will tend to do. † Next, bring God's presence to everyone you meet through prayer. As you talk with people pray for them. Maybe you can use a quick, silent Nehemiah type prayer. † Finally, when you are with people then thank God for them. It's easy to pray for the ones you like. But if they are yelling and being abusive? Pray for them and give thanks to God for them. † Don't leave prayer for the last 15 minutes of your day, or as your wake-up call to God in the morning. Prayer should be an ongoing, continuous conversation with God. And, as you talk with God more you will notice His presence there with you more. |