Someone says, "I think we should pray for Suzy's health." And someone else says, "That's a good idea."
Someone says, "Let's pray for safety before we leave." And someone else says, "That's a good idea."
Someone says, "We need to stop right now and pray for that need." And someone else says, "That's a good idea."
Okay so maybe I should say prayer is not just a good idea. It is a moral imperative. It is a holy respsonsibility. It is a life style.
Take a look at this graph. It shows how the average person spends the 24 hours we get each day. This may or may not be typical for you but let's think of it as just an average person. Where do you think prayer would be included in this model? In the 1.7 hours indicated as "Other" I presume. Some days I might fill that column but I will confess that some days, prayer would be just a sliver in that "Other" section. Where would you rate yourself?The early church had a very different view of prayer than we sometimes do. The whole purpose of many of their "services" was dedicated solely to prayer. And they prayed earnestly. In Acts 12, we see the church meeting for the express purpose of praying for Peter who was imprisoned at the time. In verse 5 it says, "So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him."
So what does it mean to pray earnestly? The definition of earnest is "an intensely serious state of mind." Wow! How many of my prayers could be described as done in an intensely serious state of mind? And even if I was able to maintain this level of rigor, would it really make that much difference? Which brings me to my next question...
What if the fate of someone's life rested solely on my prayers? What if the answer to their difficulties depended entirely on how consistently and intensely I prayed? James 5:16b says, "The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." Not many righteous men but a righteous man. We've got plenty of examples in the Bible to reinforce this idea too. Moses prayed on a mountain while the Isrealites defeated the Amalekites. Solomon prayed for wisdom so he could make decisions that affected people's lives. Paul's letters contain more requests for prayers than they do appeals for money. And then of course, there's Jesus--who prayed, and prayed, and prayed, and prayed.
1 Thessalonians 5:17 tells us to pray continually. So what does that look like? Let's go back to our graph. What if we placed an overlay of prayer over the top of it and stayed in a constant attitude of prayer? What if we pictured putting God on speaker phone so we could include him in every conversation, every decision, and every action all day long? What if prayer was not relegated to one little piece of the pie but was the pie.
Okay, so prayer is a good idea but it is so much more. Pray earnestly. Pray continually. Pray intensely. And see just what God will do with the prayers of a righteous man (or woman).
