Look at Eph 6:18. There are four forms of the Greek word for all in this verse.
“With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints…”
All kinds of prayer at all times with all perseverance for all the saints. Sounds like a major part of one’s Christian life, doesn’t it? In Col 4:2, Paul says “devote yourselves to prayer,” and in 1 Thess 5:17 we are told to “pray without ceasing.” Don’t let a vital prayer life slip away from you. Keep up an active, regular devotional life. Also, learn how to pray with others who are praying. Pray with people. God delights in honest prayers because prayer is an act of pure faith. We are not “doing” anything in prayer except casting ourselves on our heavenly Father.
Prayer involves effort — both in making time for it and persevering in it. I think it is particularly difficult to maintain a prayer life in the modern world. Before radio, TV, cassettes, CDs and Mp3s, most people naturally lived with many hours of relative silence. Now we can constantly fill our lives with noise and distractions. We can get news and entertainment all day every day. We can stay “wired” to our friends 24/7 with text messaging. To pray, such distractions must be deliberately “turned off.” That may be very much the idea Jesus had in mind when He spoke of praying in a closet (or an inner room, Matt 6:6). I fear we sometimes don’t take the time because we fill up our time with trivialities.
We have deliberately made prayer a focus of what we do at AFBC. That’s because it is biblical to keep prayer a major focus of our lives. You will notice that our worship services have not followed the trend of more entertainment and less prayer. Pray with us during prayer time. Don’t let your mind wander. Some find that time of prayer tedious. That’s because they are not engaged in prayer themselves. Even if you can’t hear what someone else is saying, look at the prayer list in the bulletin, or choose something that was shared, and pray, pray, pray. Let your natural empathy for the needs of others lead you to take the matter before your God.
Our church thrives because of prayer, and it will die without it. Teaching, service, and prayer are the three foundations of a blessed church. Keep us before the Lord!
Yours in Christ,
Originally printed in the Acton Faith Bible Church Pony Express. Vol. II, No. 02, February 2009.