Concert of Prayer Weekly Prayer Tip: Take Time

Beloved, when was the last time you spent thirty minutes in prayer?  When was the last time you spent thirty minutes watching TV? The place and priority of prayer in our lives is quickly established.  I pray continually throughout the day, as I’m sure you do as well, but this is no excuse for not setting apart time just for prayer. God will not do for us what He would not do for Jesus – exempt us from the need to pray!

Scripture Text:

“I give myself unto prayer” (Psalm 109:4).

“We will give ourselves continually to prayer” (Acts 6:4).

“Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter anything before God” (Ecclesiastes 5:2).

“And [He] continued all night in prayer to God” (Luke 6:12).

Exhortation:

If our Redeemer – the One who spoke this world into place, the Lion of Judah, the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world – found prayer necessary in God’s economy, then who are we to try to live by any other standard? Who are we to think that we can attempt to live without it?

Prayer is one of the most noted characteristics of Jesus’ life.  It marked His beginning: At His baptism, it was “while He prayed” that “heaven opened” and the Holy Spirit descended (Lu.3:21-22).  It was a constant throughout His ministry, as He often withdrew to the wilderness, to a solitary place to pray…even spending all night in prayer on the mountainside (Lu. 6:12). Prayer marked the end as well: As He took His final breaths in flesh, Jesus continued praying (Mt. 27:46; Lu 23:34,36).

“You address me as ‘Teacher’ and ‘Master,’ and rightly so,” Jesus said in John 13.  “That is what I am…I’ve laid down a pattern for you.  What I’ve done, you do. I’m only pointing out the obvious.  A servant is not ranked above his master; an employee doesn’t give orders to the employer.  If you understand what I’m telling you, act like it – and live a blessed life.”

Jesus urges us just as He urged His disciples: always pray and never lose heart!  “Cry out day and night to God!” (Luke 18:7)

Prayer:

Father, thank you for the privilege of prayer. Thank you for the blood of Christ that allows me to come boldly before your throne. Forgive me for not lingering before you in prayer. Forgive me for having a “microwave” approach to prayer, for allowing my entire prayer life to consist of 60-second, “express cook” prayers. Help me put you—and time with you—first in my life. I choose you above television, movies, books, friends, entertainment and internet. Forgive me for making excuses, saying that I don’t have time to spend in prayer. During His life on earth,  Jesus had greater responsibilities and demands on His time than I will ever know, yet He sacrificed what was good for what was best—He chose to spend necessary time with You in prayer. No servant is greater than His master. Jesus instructed His disciples to do as they saw Him doing. Therefore He instructs me to choose prayer above lesser activities. Even now I wait upon You in prayer. I am helpless before You. Make me the disciple you have called me to be. I wait upon You now in prayer.

Reading:

“Time is one of the prime estimates of value. The time we give is a proof of the interest we feel. We need time with God: to realize His presence; to wait for Him to make Himself known; to consider and feel the needs we plead for; to take our place in Christ; to pray until we can believe that we have received. Take time in prayer…” – Andrew Murray