PRAY CONTINUALLY // NOVEMBER 23, 2022
Make your life a prayer.
1 Thessalonians 5:17 TPT
Paul advises us to make our lives a prayer -- a constant conversation with God. When we pray, we invite him into our personal space. Prayer is the base ingredient that holds our dish together, continually acknowledging that God's in control, and we are intentionally surrendering to the one who loves us, has a hope and a future for us and who wants so much more for us. Prayer changes us, grows us and draws us closer to him. It creates authentic, life-transforming conversation with our creator.
We often think of prayer as transactional: God, can you heal me? Help me? Save my marriage? Provide for me? But what if prayer isn't transactional but relational? Prayer is so much more than a prayer request; it's a conversation with God. He wants to spend time with us, not just hear from us on doing this or that thing. Would our spouses or friends appreciate just having transactional conversations about what we need them to do for us? No, they want to know how we're doing, how our day's been, what was challenging, what was great about it. Prayer changes situations, but it also changes us, adjusting our focus. God already knows our every thought, so our conversation with God is meant to get into his presence. We've all experienced people whose presence change our posture. We can shift our focus from our problems and turn it to who he is. In a world that's out of control, we have a God that's in control.
God just wants to connect with you. He wants to have a relationship with you. Not only does he want to hear from you, but he'd like you to hear from him. This week, be intentional about shutting off the noise: social media, television, music and other distractions. Consider enjoying a meal with him, as you think about your day: what happened, what were your highs/lows, what excited you, what challenged you? As you develop your prayer time in God's presence, be sure to incorporate reading his word. The more you read God's ways, thoughts and truths, the more you'll start to know his voice. You can add in times of silence, as you sense God's thoughts toward you. If it's not a practice you've developed, stick with it. You'd be surprised by how your relationship grows and what that does inside of you. It truly is a gift that keeps on giving, so pray continually.