Tuesday's Thoughts: Pray Without Ceasing

Prayer is probably one of the hardest things to stick to in the Christian life. EVERY time there is a sermon, and prayer is brought up, I feel convicted to pray more. I think most of us do not pray enough but prayer is the most powerful tool we have in our Christian life. Last semester I had a class on Prayer and had to the read the book called "The Discipline of Prayer" by Dr Corle. He mentioned that many Christians pray without really expecting an answer but that is exactly what prayer is there for!

 

Have you ever wondered why you are not getting your prayers answered. I sure have. There are many reasons (unsaved, unconfessed sin, unbelief , praying selfishly, bitter spirit) but one reason that probably hits home very time is "praying without ceasing". To often we just pray whenever we think about it but we do not prevail in prayer (me included). To often time goes by and we never FIND TIME to pray. What has really helped me in my prayer life is to write my prayers in a journal on my computer. This may not be for everyone but I am a computer person. I open up my page and write in full sentences what I am praying. This helps me concentrate and actually pray with soul AND mind! Find YOUR prayer closet where you can talk to God.

Prayer is such a powerful tool. It can protect us and help us through life in no other way. We often hear about George Müller and his life of prayer. He would not go through a day without spending three hours on his knees in prayer! All the stories of how he prayed for food, furniture, money, etc. for his Orphanages and it came RIGHT on time... it is AMAZING! When you have a good prayer life people WILL see the difference. Here is a story I heard in class the other day from George Washington (the first US president). A Quaker, Isaac Potts, stumbled on George Washington while he was praying in the woods. His story:

"I was riding with Mr. Potts near to the Valley Forge where the army lay during the war of ye Revolution, when Mr. Potts said, 'Do you see that woods & that plain? There laid the army of Washington. It was a most distressing time of ye war, and all were for giving up the Ship but that great and good man. In that woods (pointing to a close in view) I heard a plaintive sound as of a man at prayer. I tied my horse to a sapling & went quietly into the woods. To my astonishment I saw the great George Washington on his knees alone, with his sword on one side and his cocked hat on the other. He was at Prayer to the God of the Armies, beseeching to interpose with his Divine aid, as it was ye Crisis & the cause of the country, of humanity & of the world. Such a prayer I never heard from the lips of man. I left him alone praying. I went home & told my wife. We never thought a man could be a soldier & a Christian, but if there is one in the world, it is Washington. We thought it was the cause of God & America could prevail."

Source: Eyewitness testimony of Isaac Potts, a Valley Forge resident who shared the following story with the Rev. Nathaniel Randolph Snowden (1770-1851), who then recorded it in his "Diary and Remembrances."

 

Listen to "Did You Think to Pray"

What an amazing testimony President Washington had! Today I want to leave you with this quote from John Bunyan:

"Pray often, for prayer is a shield to the soul, a sacrifice to God, and a scourge for Satan"