Devotion 11/16, Pray

I urge, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone — for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.
1 Timothy 2:1-2

It is a privilege and a responsibility to bring our requests and thanksgiving to Him. To be able to go to God in prayer as His child through faith in Jesus Christ, is truly remarkable.
Many times I have heard people say, “Well, all we can do now is pray.” Why do we so often wait to reach out to God as a last resort? Shouldn’t He be our first resort, our first counsel!
Prayer should be our FIRST line of defense for any situation, not our last. But as prideful humans we sometimes fool ourselves into thinking we can handle things without God. We struggle and work to solve our problems, many times making things worse in the process!

Paul is urging Timothy here to understand that direct communication with God through prayer is crucial to living a peaceful, quiet, godly, and holy life….a life that is pleasing to God. It is all too easy to get caught up in our day to day circumstances, and neglect time spent in prayer to our Father God. Since the beginning of our existence God has wanted our hearts, hearts that are willing to obey Him and to worship and praise Him. When we spend time in prayer, we are focused completely on Him. Even if many of our prayers are for things concerning us or those we love, we are still recognizing the fact that only He can give the desired outcome.

God wants us to be a praying people. But more than that, God wants us to pray for people. The blessing of that kind of prayerful life is that we get to live peaceful and quiet lives full of godliness and holiness. So pray, dear friend in Jesus, and His grace will fill your soul.

Holy Father, your greatness is beyond my mind to grasp but your grace reaches me and teaches in a new way each day. Forgive me when my prayer life has not been passionate. Forgive me for letting my prayers focus only on what is wrong. Use your Spirit, O God, to ignite a hunger in my soul so that I come to find satisfaction only in you and your presence. In the name of Jesus Christ and through the intercession of the Holy Spirit, I pray. Amen.

No matter your situation, God wants to hear from you. I pray that my enemies find a life in Christ. I pray that those suffering find the peace that comes from a personal relationship with our Lord. I pray that the Holy Spirit focus our sight on His gifts of Christ’s grace and eternal life. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen