Did You Think To Pray?

Prayer. It's such a simple principle right? But sometimes its so difficult. Sometimes we may forget to pray, we get "too busy" to pray, we don't feel worthy enough to pray, we don't know what to pray about. I have dealt with all of these reasons at some point in my life or another. Whatever the reason might be, we should "pray always" no matter what the circumstances may be. The words Did You Think To Pray come from a beautiful Hymn that I love so much.

In the lyrics of the Hymn, it follows a very simple pattern. It suggests situations in our daily lives, then asks the question that occurs in the second line "Did you think to pray?" We should engage in prayer every morning as the day begins. In Mark 1:35 we read of Jesus that, "Rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, He departed and went out to a desolate place, and there He prayed." In this as in all other things He is our best example. We sometimes find ourselves too "busy" to pray, but who could have been more busy than Jesus in those three rushed years of ministry? On some occasions Jesus was too busy to even take time to eat!(Mark 6:31) But I seriously doubt that He neglected prayer. On the night before He called the apostles, He even spent the entire night in prayer.(Luke 6:12) If Jesus himself being perfect needed daily prayer, how much more do we need daily prayer? He set such a great example. I think about that all the time.

 Jeremiah told us that "The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning."(Lamentations 3:22-23) That "loving favor" is present every morning when we awaken, and is ready to meet whatever challenges the day may bring us. 

We need to take up the shield of prayer every day, and the sooner the better. The mind itself is a constant battlefield, and the sooner we take the offensive, the more likely we are to have the momentum of battle in our favor for the day. At the end of the great passage on the "Christian armor," Paul tells us that the first duty of the armed Christian soldier is, "praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance."(Ephesians6:18) Also in Colossians 4:2 it echoes the thought: "Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving." There is no better way to start the day, than by presenting ourselves for duty in the Lord's service and asking Him to bless our day that is before us!

Whatever you may be facing or going through, I simply ask you....

Did you think to pray???