“Never stop praying (I Thessalonians 5:17)
If you are taking a medication, and suddenly make the decision to stop taking it, there will be repercussions. Doctors list the effects of doing this as nausea, dizziness, sweating, tremors, and insomnia, to name a few. This does not include the fact that the condition you are taking the medicine for could get much worse. If we stop eating, experts tell us our body can break down and death can occur in as little as three weeks. Obviously, there is a price to pay when we stop doing what is best for us.
I do not believe any of us reading this would deliberately and intentionally stop taking important medication or eating. So if we are careful to take care of our bodies, why are we at times so lax in taking care of our souls?
Prayer is essential for our spiritual health and growth. I said last week that we find our identity through our relationship with Christ. As we do this, we then need to learn the impact prayer has on our lives. Allow me to give you four paramount reasons to pray – and pray without ceasing. First, prayer helps us surrender to the reality that we need God. Adam and Eve swallowed the lie in the Garden that they could be their own god. Through pray we willingly turn ourselves to the truth that there is one god – and we are not it. Second, prayer helps us surrender to the wisdom that is greater than our own. Through prayer, we acknowledge that we do not have all the answers, but we are submitting to God’s greater wisdom that we so desperately need. Third, prayer brings us to the place of giving up our right to live life our way. As we submit ourselves to God in prayer on a daily basis, we begin to understand our need to surrender our lives to God’s will. Lastly, prayer helps us surrender to the fact that we need God’s grace. Grace in the Greek is the word “charis.” It is defined as “favor.” It means God has bestowed on us his love, mercy, and kindness when we have done nothing to deserve it. Prayer ushers us into a connection with God that we are grateful to experience.
Prayer is essential for us to practice on a daily basis for our spiritual health and well-being. Mark 1:35 tells us, “Before daybreak….Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray.” I figure if it is important for God to talk to himself, it is important for us to talk to him. How about you?
Darlene
“Never stop praying (I Thessalonians 5:17)