Thought of the Day !!

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. – James 5:13-16 (ESV)

James tells us to sing praises, to pray when suffering and for healing.  He tells us to confess to each other (with the assumption I believe that we are to confess to God as well).  In a nutshell, he’s telling us that prayer is so very important to our Church. 

Do you struggle with prayer?  Does your mind wander, or do you have trouble finding the right words to express yourself?  Do you try to pray when going to bed only to find yourself falling asleep?

If so, you’re not alone.  If polled, I would imagine the numbers would be very high on those who would claim to have problems with their prayer life.  In the book Before Amen by Max Lucado he confesses that he is a “recovering prayer wimp”.  Author of more Christian books that I can count, pastor and speaker for years, and he admits that there are countless times that he’s had the exact same issues with prayer that I just spoke of. 

There are a lot of books on prayer out there and many different ways to pray.  But if you ask me, the main thing to remember about prayer is this.  When you pray, be intimate.  Talk to your Daddy in Heaven or your friend and Savior Jesus or the Holy Spirit that spends more time with you than anyone else.  Talk to Him.  Talk to Him often.  And just say whatever is on your mind.  Say it in private.  Say it in public when asked to pray in a crowd.  Say it wherever and whenever you think about Him.  Just talk.  And He will listen.  Of course prayer is a two way street so don’t just talk.  Listen for Him to speak as well.         

In the love of Christ,

greg