Food for Thought

In his letter to the church at Ephesus Paul writes: “Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.” Ephesians 6:18 (NLT).  Even a casual reader of this challenge from Paul will realize how difficult it is. 

I worked for several years with the leader of a mission’s agency who was the best example I have seen of praying at all times and on every occasion.  He would pause and spontaneously pray over things that many would consider everyday happenings.  He was a wonderful example of someone attempting to follow Paul’s challenge.

 I suspect that in our busy world there are many times when prayers are not offered at all times but deferred to the end of the day, our next devotional time, or forgotten about all together.

It’s easy to allow our prayers to be neatly organized into a time and a place, becoming part of one of the spiritual disciplines that we realize should be practiced on a regular basis.  All that is good, but there is something special about the spontaneity that Paul alludes to and my friend practiced.

At our church we have a prayer line available to facilitate spontaneous requests that operates on social media.  People can initiate a request and typically within a few minutes someone or quite often a few folks will have responded to the request.  It is a welcome and appreciated venue for those attempting to respond to Paul’s challenge.  It allows others to be aware of needs and join in seeking the Lord about them.  But there is no tool required nor hindrance confronting us that prevents us personally from actively praying in the Spirit all times and on every occasion.

A few days ago, I came across a similarly challenging question: “Are your prayers your last resort or your first response?”

This question and Paul’s challenge to the Ephesians are indeed great food for thought!

                                                                                    Pastor Dave

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