First I want to start with scripture, the first is James 5:13-16 "Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing pslams. 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 sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has comitted sins, he will be forgiven. Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much." And now the second, which happens to be a favorite of mine is found in Ephesians 6:18 "praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints." Do you hear the awesomeness of God in this scripture? He is telling us to pray,and not just pray,but how to pray,and when to pray. Prayer is an important part of a christians life. Prayer is our communication with Christ. It is us sharing,listening, and giving all to Him through our prayers. We can be anywhere,at anytime and feel the need to pray. There have been times where I was not able to sleep at night,and names came to mind. As God layed those names on my heart,come to find out later,those people were in need. I didn't need a phone call from them, I didn't need the full scoop of the matter,all I needed was to be open with God. And then there have been those times that I am so sleepy,and wanting to fall asleep,and names will come to my heart,and I will let it go. I will tell myself, I need sleep. Then had a horrible nights sleep because I did not obey my God. God knows the need of those around us, He knows everyone. He lays them upon our hearts for reasons that we may never know.But that prayer is interceding for them at the moment they need it most. I pray for many, I pray for those I pass on the highway,in the doctors office, in all places. I can even be laying in the sun,and look up and see the trail from an airplane,and pray those people know Christ before it is everlasting too late. I pray for them to come to know Jesus,and walk with Him. Then there are those days,when I will tell someone,"I will pray for you." And never remember to do so. I am so ashamed when that happens. I can't count the times I have forgotten because all my thoughts were more important at the time. Why do we say "I will pray for you?" Why not just lay our hands upon them and pray for them right then? Isn't that the solution? Why wait,when prayer is so important? We don't even have to know the persons name,we can still pray for God's will. We don't have to know the situation, God already does. We just need to be obedient, and follow our God. Prayer should be in our everyday lives. It should be the most important factor of our days. To be in constant prayer with our Father in heaven. He never breaks that connection, we do. I do. If we can take our focus and put it on the things of eternal worth,instead of worldly worth,that changes our perspective,and allows us to focus on Christ. To have a Christ centered life,He must be at the center at all times.Not just when we can fit Him into our busy lives. Without prayer, all the armor we put on daily,is useless. We must persevere, we must press on, praying for those all around us, including ourselves. Lord, I pray that when you lay someone upon my heart, I will pray right then and not put it off. I pray that you will use me,use me as a vessel for You. I will leave you with one last scripture. Romans 8:26-27"Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God." For all of us, I pray our prayer lives will grow with our walk with Christ. I pray that we will be prayer minded, and know we can go to our Jesus anytime and anywhere calling upon His name for those around us..
