Yesterday, I read a devotional by Greg Laurie and he asked the following question: “If you never had a problem again, if you never had an unpaid bill, if you or a family member never had a single sickness, a single conflict, or a single problem, and if you always knew the right decision to make, would you still pray?”
The answer to that rather lengthy question pretty clearly indicates your understanding of prayer and the purpose of it. Could it be that you do not pray because things are going pretty well? Could it be that if you prayed and asked God to make Himself known to you in a new and fresh way, you just might experience some difficulty or struggle? Why rock the boat? Why shake things up? If life is good, then why in the world would I want to stir anything up? I think one of the problems in America today is that we have things pretty good. We don’t need to pray for daily food. We don’t need to pray for safety and protection. We do not need to pray for shelter and a nice warm home. We already have it! Isn’t it interesting that when the furnace quits we begin to pray and ask God to make it so that there is nothing seriously wrong? Isn’t it interesting that we pray for safety when the storms are rolling in and the tornado siren is blaring? Isn’t it interesting that we pray and ask God for safety when the roads are covered with snow? Why not pray when the furnace is working? Perhaps you might want to say “thank you Lord for the warmth.” Why not pray when the sun is shining and it is a beautiful day? Why not pray when the roads are clear?
Greg Laurie went on to tell a story about a father whose son was leaving for college. He said, Son, I’m going to pay all your bills. I will take care of everything, and I will give you a monthly check.” But then he added “But I’m not sending the check to any address. If you want the check you have to come home to get it.” Needless to say, the son came home every month. Do you know where I am going with this? God will allow circumstances in our lives to keep us dependent on Him. Sadly, the only time many of us call out to Him is when we need something for ourselves.
I want to encourage you to try something. I would like to ask you to make the focus of your prayers others, and not yourself. Try it for a week. If you do find yourself bending your prayers in your own direction, then make it a prayer of thanksgiving. Thank God for what He has already done for you. Celebrate that, but take some time to pray for one another. Do you do that? Do you really pray for one another? Each one of you probably have your own prayer list, but if not, take a look at the one below. You may very well not even know some of the people on the list, but pray for them anyways. Pray for one another. The Bible tells us to do that, and God must have a reason for it. James 5:16 tells us to “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.” Did you catch that? That you may be healed. It sounds to me like God just might take care of you as you pray for someone else. Pretty cool! Two people benefit from that kind of prayer. The person who you are praying for, and you!
God has not only given us the responsibility to pray for one another, but the privilege to do so. Ask someone how you can pray for them, and then pray. I look forward to seeing what God might do with a group of people who are serious about prayer.