Challenge #10 - Pursuing Prayer

My last post was devoted to the importance of praying without allowing doubt to hinder our minds. I am using this post on prayer as a springboard for our first challenge of 2017. This challenge is our prayer challenge. I am not setting any specific guidelines in terms of the amount of time or how often, but I do want us to make prayer a part of our daily routine. The Lord is our friend and like a friend we should desire to converse with Him regularly.

“pray continually” 1 Thessalonians 5:17

What exactly does “pray continually” mean? We can not always be locked away in the prayer closet in intense prayer, but we can have a spirit of prayer about us everywhere we go. We can have the Lord on our mind throughout our day and I truly believe that this concept is what this verse is referring to. To be ready and available to stop what we are doing to pray for those whom God brings along our path throughout our day; to stop what we are doing and just thank God for what has just taken place. These are examples of what it means to pray continually. Having God at the forefront of our minds in whatever we are doing and wherever we are going, in our conversations and in our times of quiet.

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.” Psalm 100:4

I don’t know how you view prayer, but I tend to think it should be a healthy mix of thanksgiving, praise and requests. God is not our grocery store list that we can sit down and read off all the things that we need and be done with our prayer session for the day. He desires communion. Sometimes that requires more effort on our part. Sometimes that requires us to cut out the distractions of life, get to a quiet place and seek the Lord’s face with all that we are. Sometimes it means for our minds to be (as mentioned earlier) continually on the things of God.

I am encouraging you to pray continually, with thanksgiving in your hearts each and every day to your Lord and Savior. See what transpires from a month dedicated to focusing on prayer. May your walk with the Lord be radically changed as you determine in your heart to seek his face each day.