PRAY WITHOUT CEASING.
God taught us to pray irrespective of the situation. The storms may rage furiously and the fires may engulf us but there should be a prayer on the lips all the time. Prayer should become a lifestyle. Daniel prayed three times a day as usual in spite of the issued decree. ..three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. (Daniel 6:10). Nothing happens to us without the permission and approval of God, he is in control and he is an ever present help in times of trouble. David prayed earnestly in the mornings, In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly. (Psalm 5:3) David occasionally spent time with God 7 times a day.
When speaking about the end times, Jesus instructed us to be alert in prayer. Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. (Mark 13:33, Matt 25:1-3). The world is in a hurry these days and for every one of us there is very less time for prayer. We have invented gadgets to relieve us from work stress and to save time but we are not having any extra free time than the previous generations. We became still busier these days and the victim in all this is the prayer time. Satan trembles when he sees the weakest saint on his knees. And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. (Mark 1:35) Jesus set an example of daily early morning prayer time alone in an undisturbed place.
GODS PROMISES
- Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. (Mark 11:24)
- Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groaning too deep for words. (Romans 8:26)
- But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. (Matt 6:6)
- Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known. (Jeremiah 33:3)
- When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. (psalm 34:7)
- If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. (2 chr 7:14)
- Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. (Jer 29:12)
- And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him. (1 John 5:14-15)
- Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Phil 4:6-7)
- Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. (James 5:13-18)
- The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfils the desire of those who fear him; he also hears their cry and saves them. (Psalm 145:18-19)
PRAYER: Father teach us how to pray. Thank you for listening to our heart cries, agony and the unuttered words. Even when we are still pondering over the issues we are facing and trying to articulate the words in prayer, the answer is on its way. You are the first to take initiative, you intervene, you intercede and you get involved till the matter is resolved.