Remember as a child always reciting the same prayer at meal times? “God is great, God is good…” Though we always said the same thing, we were learning how to pray. As we grew older and more mature in our spiritual lives, our prayers became more intimate, personal. That is because we learned that prayer is our communication with our Creator. It is an intimate and glorious time!
As a parent, I love to hear my children pray. In the beginning, each of their prayers were the same. I could almost quote Ben and Callie’s bedtime prayers because they said the same thing every night. It really was monotonous, but at least they knew the importance of prayer. It is so sweet to see them grow in their relationships with the Lord. Their prayer times are really becoming a personal experience between them and their God. I remember a time when we had just been home with Caleb for about a month and he was helping me in the grocery store. He loved to help me check off the items on my list and looked forward to that fun time in the grocery cart. Well, this one particular day, we had a lot of groceries and had been there for quite a while when he asked if we could go. I told him in just a minute that we had to "PAY" first. He immediately bowed his head, folded his hands, and began to "PRAY" just as loud as he could (of course, at the time, it was mostly in Chinese so I didn’t understand it). He thought I said that we had to pray first and he didn’t care who was watching or listening, he was praying! That made me laugh but at the same time was a reminder that no matter where or when, we can lift our prayers and praises to our Father. I joined him in prayer right in the middle of the grocery store and then we proceeded to PAY as well!
God’s Word tells us in Ephesians 6:18 “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and request. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.”
Our lives should be in a constant attitude of prayer. How many opportunities pass us by where we could have lifted up a request or praise? The people we pass on the street, the friend that is burdened, our fellow brothers & sisters, our families, our pastors, the church, the blessings we see day in and day out, all these and many more are opportunities that we have to talk to our Heavenly Father. We don’t have to pray just at meal times or bedtime; we GET to engage in a one-on-one conversation with our Creator any time, any place! Okay, now I’m overwhelmed! WOW! We, who don’t deserve it, get the honor and privilege of presenting our requests and offering our praise to the One and Only God of the universe!
I Thessalonians 5:17-18 “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
Take advantage this week of the wonderful blessing we have been given to talk to our God. Sweet, sweet fellowship!
Have a blessed week!
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