Take a Minute to Pray
Categories: Church of Christ Bulletin Articles
It’s Monday morning and you’re a Christian. If you think about it for more than a minute there’s a good chance that you feel inadequate in your prayer life.
For some reason Christians don’t apply principles that work in all other areas of life to their spiritual lives. No one expects a new father to know what a grandfather knows. No one expects a rookie ball player to know what a veteran knows. Yet, for some reason Christians read about Jesus praying all night, and, knowing that they can’t do that, just give up on prayer as a regular part of their lives. They end up only praying in emergencies and at the dinner table. What are those principles that Christians don’t apply?
- Start with the basics.
- Practice them regularly.
- Seek regular improvement.
I’d like to see anyone make the argument that God requires more. Look here:
If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen (1 Peter 4:11).
God doesn’t expect more than your ability.
So, what are the basics of prayer?
- Make it a practice each day. See my previous article on The Power of One Minute.
- Pray about those things that God is most concerned about. These would include
- The Family.
- The Government.
- The Church. You can include here spiritual needs like wisdom, strength and forgiveness.
These are His institutions, the subjects closest to His heart. You can be certain that when you pray about these things that he is listening.
- Seek regular improvement.
- This involves learning more about the mind of God. Your regular Bible reading will help in this.
- The contemplation involved in regular prayer will help as well. You know how it works. Things that have been in front of you for ages suddenly come into focus with regular practice.
- To continue with this improvement special study will be involved. (The next installment will be deep Bible study for busy people.)
Who knows whether you’ll ever be able to pray all night like Jesus. That’s not the goal. The goal is to please God. Implied in the regular practice of prayer is devotion, trust, faith, hope and love that have always been the marks of God’s people. It pleases God when we pray. It must not be derailed by unrealistic expectations on our side.
Take a minute right now and pray.