Keep Praying

Our church has a prayer list. It is published weekly, and there are copies made available at the church. It is also sent electronically to anyone who asks to receive our emails and is mailed to a handful of folks who “don’t do computers.” 

            Our prayer list has several categories. There is a column for our “Church Family” and another for “Family and Friends.”  These two columns change frequently. There are still others that are labeled, “On-Going” and “Cancer Concerns.” These will often remain the same for weeks at a time as we keep the names of these folks in our minds.  Finally, there is a column for, “Other Concerns.” 

            I know many of our church members keep the latest copy of the prayer list in their Bibles for the entire week. They refer to them daily as they read the Bible and pray.  I am so grateful for their faithfulness to do so.

            The Bible reminds us, “Pray without ceasing.” Does this mean that we are to quit our jobs, never turn on the TV, quit doing anything else and pray all day every day?  No. God clearly intends for us to work, to spend time with family and to do other things. We go shopping, we rest and relax, we visit with friends. 

            To “pray without ceasing” means that we seek to be in a constant state of friendship with God. It means that we can call on Him at any moment. And it means that we never quit praying. We never give up on God.

            When you don’t feel like praying, pray anyway. When it seems your prayers are not being heard, pray anyway. When praying gets harder and harder, pray anyway. 

            Jesus modeled this kind of praying for us in the Garden of Gethsemane.  How He longed for the cup of death to pass by, and yet He declared, “Nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done,” and then He obeyed His Father. 

            I pray that you will keep praying. I don’t know what you are facing, but God is bigger still than anything in your life. He loves you and is listening. The Bible says that He “inclines His ear toward us.” What a source of comfort to know that God hears my prayers!  Keep praying. He is listening.