Are you devoted to prayer? I'm not trying to throw out a guilt trip, I'm just asking you to think about the place of prayer in your life.
"Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful." Colossians 4:2
Devotion is a wonderful picture of what our attitude toward prayer should be. I am not necessarily thinking about a romantic, Hollywood drama type devotion. It is more about the choice to follow as a devotee. Be a person of prayer. Just pray.
A time of prayer is like daily pilgrimage into the presence of God. In this sentence prayer is a noun, not a verb. The picture I get is that of people at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem. So, the lesson here is that we need to be devoted to times of prayer. Remember that we have a relationship with God in Christ. Setting aside a time to converse with God is what the goal is. You read the Bible to listen to him and you pray to talk to him. I heard someone say that God gave us two ears and one mouth, so do the math and listen more than you talk. (That is actually good advice for marriage also.)
There are two things we should focus on in our prayers. One is being watchful and the other is being thankful. When I drive I am always watching out for other drivers, hoping for the best but anticipating the worst. Everyday I pray for my children that God would protect them from crazy and evil people. I also am thankful for my wife and children and my job. Being thankful reminds us that God is supplying us with our daily bread and usually more. Being thankful reminds us that God is at work in our lives.
Father, help us to be devoted to prayer and to be watchful and thankful. Praise be to you in us today!
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