Last week, Julie and I presented a devotion on prayer practice. I admitted that I take short cuts. The YouVersion Bible App has a nice little prayer bottled up in the daily devotion. Does this mean I'm taking short cuts?
As Julie and I were preparing our talk, I started thinking about the role of prayer in my life. We talked about how we pray, when we pray, where we pray, what we pray for, how prayers should be shaped or constructed. Most days (I'm not perfect), I do my daily devotions in the morning, and I do a more in-depth bible student on weeknights in the evenings.
During the day...
After our coffee in the park message on prayer, I decided my prayer life is lacking. Maybe this accounted for some of the distance I have recently been feeling from Jesus. I love Jesus, but I don't always feel plugged into his word. The consequence is that I don't always feel connected to Jesus, I don't always act the way Jesus does, and I start to worry and feet about things.
1 Thessalonians 5:17 (KJV) says to “Pray without ceasing.”
Praying throughout the day keeps the communication open between me and God.
Philippians 4:6 (NLT) instructs, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.” When my behavior starts to stray, calling up God in prayer helps me connect. Paul's letters explain who I should talk to when I start to worry anytime during the day: God. God shouldn't be just my first and last conversation of the day, He should be all of the in-between, too.
As I continue to reflect on prayer this summer, I plan to be more intentional about praying constantly and turning to God in all things.
Best,
Michelle
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