Do you pray?

Prayer

I read a book recently.  It’s actually more like a pamphlet than a book, but everything seems longer on an iBook (or is it eBook?).  The book is called A Call To Prayer by J.C. Ryle and I would like to encourage you to read this.  Google it and you should be able to get a free pdf-format on the web.

The thing that struck me most about this short book is the question he starts with:  Do you pray?  Then he goes on to explain why prayer is such an important part of the Christian life.  He also gives some practical advice on improving your personal prayer life and the consequences that may have on your life in general and specifically.  I really urge you to get a copy of the book and read it.  Very inspiring stuff.  Here’s a quote from the book:

“Do you wish to grow in grace and be a devoted Christian?  Be very sure, if you wish it, you could not have a more important than this - Do you pray?”

So I want to ask you the same question:  Do you pray?

I’m not asking this to make you feel good or bad about yourself and how much/little you pray.  I’m asking this because I’m absolutely convinced that prayer (and with prayer I mean the sincere, honest outpouring of our hearts before a merciful God) is one of the most fundamental ways in which we connect with and relate to God the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.  “To be prayerless is to be without God, without Christ, without grace, without hope, and without heaven.”

I have been walking with Christ for a couple of years now and even though times may change, seasons (and people) may come and go and I grow older and (hopefully) wiser, I have constantly come to realise that it is only through spending time with Christ that I get rid of the old and am changed for His glory.  The best way is through prayer.

Here are some things I found useful:

-       Start a prayer journal - Write down things you ask for, cross them out or write down the date when it’s been answered.

-       Start prayers with thanksgiving - It helps my faith to remember God’s goodness and grace in the past before asking for the future.

-       Be persistent - Jesus urges us to be persistent in prayer in Luke 18:1-8.  Read it.

-       Be honest - C.S. Lewis said: “We should bring before God what is in us, not what ought to be in us.”  God knows what’s in your heart and He can handle you telling Him as it is.

-       Use tools - Lent is coming up.  Use this time to get into a good habit of prayer every day.  Use devotionals to help you focus on what and how to pray.

-       Pray with people - One of the ways I find most useful to refresh my personal prayer life is to pray with and for others.  Come to a prayer meeting at church, or start one at home.  God created us to be part of a community to encourage each other into a deeper relationship with Christ.

I’m not writing this from a place of knowing all the answers.  I don’t have all the answers, even if I wanted to.  I do, however, know that we can be changed and be change in the world through drawing near to Christ, and prayer is the surest way to do that.

“Christ is the true bridegroom of the soul, the true physician of the heart, the real father of all his people.  Let us show that we feel this by being unreserved in our communications with him.  Let us hide no secrets from him.  Let us tell him all our hearts.”  ~J.C. Ryle~