Thought for the day: Prayer; The Real Need for It

Prayer
The Real Need for It
1 Thessalonians 5:17


I recently read a message that a very dear friend of mine posted. It was entitled “Pray For Me.” He actually preached this message on the 30th of December, and I really enjoyed his comments. Reading a message and hearing a message doesn’t have the same impact, at times, to me. I guess I’ve been more focused on prayer since I was asked by a pastor if I would join a prayer group to pray with him, for him and for his church. I’ve made an all effort to pray more than I normally did. Oh, yeah, I’ve prayed, but not hard enough, I believe. I’ve even prayed harder for my own pastor, and in turn was rewarded with one of the best messages I’ve heard him preach. God used it to show me things. Now I wonder if I had been praying harder for him, how much more I would have received from previous messages, and even more, how much our relationship might have grown. As I have studied God’s Word, I find that Paul talked about praying more than any apostle that I’ve read. He preached it, requested it, and even did it. We are told in 1 Thessalonians 5:17, to “Pray without ceasing.” I realize that we sleep and at that point we quit praying. However, we could go to bed with a very prayerful heart, couldn’t we?

I’m reminded of a mother, by the name of Hannah, who prayed faithfully about having a man child, son. 1 Samuel 1:10 tells us, “And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the LORD, and wept sore. And she vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give me a man child, then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.” We read further to find out that Eli thought she was drunk because she spake in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard (vs. 13)
As you read own further in 1 Samuel, you find out that God blessed her with a son, and she named him Samuel. Hannah was true to her word also. In verses 24 – 28, we find that she gave her son to Eli, the high priest, to be raised to serve the Lord. We find out, in chapter 2, that Hannah prayed again giving thanks to the Lord telling Him that she was rejoicing, because HE answered her prayer. Because of faithfulness in prayer and obedience to her promise she was later blessed by God with three more sons and two daughters. Prayer; what a powerful tool!

Prayer is something that is not used near enough. We tell people we are going to pray for them, but do we really pray for them? Sure, we may casually say a prayer, at the time, or when it comes to our mine, but do we really pray fervently or hard? James tells us, in James 5:16, “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” If people aren’t praying like we should, then we could come to the final conclusion of the matter: Ready for this? Churches do not really pray. I know that there are people in churches that pray. It’s usually about 5% of the people that seriously and earnestly pray, maybe a smaller percentage. Let’s just say 2% of Christians really pray now, and God is showing mighty works through these churches because of these 2 percent. How much more would God bless churches if 98% of the Christians prayed hard?

It has taken me several years to take note of the fact that we do not pray like we should. Churches with pastors don’t pray enough for them. They have the highest job in all the world and we wonder why so many give it up. We put them on pedestals and usually find ourselves disappointed when the man side of them comes out. So, when they may do something we don’t like, we leave the church that God may very well want us at, or we get rid of them, because we have a problem. The fact is people really start having problems; it seems, with their pastor when they stop praying for him. Truth is, churches who pray together, get stronger. They seek God’s direction in every decision, and don’t rely on things such as traditional beliefs, or their thoughts on subjects. It is all about HIM to those churches. God reveals things to people who pray! We should seek God’s direction in our lives every day. Pray hard. When we do, and God shows us what He wants for us, it really is very clear. It is so clear it seems we don’t have as easy of a time finding faults with people, places or things. A lesson this old saved man has learned way too hard. My challenges, through this thought for the day, to anyone who reads this, pray hard, but pray seriously. Look for God’s instructions, directions, and guidance. Doing this will make disappointments a lot less painful, and give life a bigger meaning.