Be Watchful

Man, as hard as I tried to last night I could not stay awake long enough to pray.  Maybe it was because I was in bed under the covers when I started.  Not in the proper posture or position to hear from God.  And no I am not saying that you have to be on bended knee with your hands clasped together.  But what I am saying is that your mind should be focused on God.  You should be removed from all distractions.  How do I know this?  It says it in His Word.  Paul wrote in Colossians 4:2, ' Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful  in it with thanksgiving'. 

I was one of those people who would feel bad when I forgot to pray.  To tell the truth I still do.  But once I started to really understand what 'pray without ceasing' meant, I realized that it was more about a lifestyle.  That is, I have my own private line to The Almighty and I should use it.  I should call on Him anytime throughout my day and He should recognize my voice.  I should not neglect my prayer life.  It should be maintained at all times. Prayer should be persistent.  We are dependent on God for everything.  One of the ways we find out His will for our life is through prayer.  It is through prayer that He speaks to us.  Most of us are not aware of all the things that we depend on God for. Or should I say that we forget that we depend on God for everything. Our life, our health.  The temporal enjoyments, which depend on His daily goodness, providence, and power.We need Him to be renewed day by day.  Without Him there would not be a fresh supply of grace and  new mercies.  Spiritual warfare is continuous and we cannot rely on our own weapons to fight. Every weapon that we are supposed to use comes from God. 

Not only does your prayer need to be continuous but you should be watchful. In the literal sense this means to stay awake. "Oooops!" I already flunked that test. Before I could say "Dear Lord" I was knocked out. There is more to these words than that though. These words mean that we should be more specific in prayer. Praying simply out of duty or to fulfill a Christian obligation is not okay. Yes you pray out of obedience but your prayer life should move beyond that. So what makes us neglect our prayer life....LIFE.  Everything keeps us so busy.  We don't slow down until life knocks us down and then we realize that we forgot to pray.  There may be some things that can be neglected like my toes during the winter time or the dusting in the house, but prayer is not one of them.  It should be continuous and steadfast.  Like a wife to a devoted husband we should be in constant communication with God, sharing with Him our innermost thoughts and asking Him to provide, heal and comfort those we love.  In other words we recognize the value.  We are to ask Him to search our hearts and clean them up.  It is a time where we turn all of our attention to Him.  It is not a time of mindless chatter.  God commands our undivided attention.  It is He, and only He, that can make the difference in our lives. 



Most Gracious Heavenly Father,



Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, thank you for the many blessings that you have bestowed on my life, especially those that I take for granted like waking me up this morning and the grace and mercy you give me every day. At times I neglect my time with You and I am sorry. I know that You love to hear from me and I enjoy hearing from You. Help me to be more devoted in my communion with You. Let it be a reflection of my relationship with You. I love You Lord and I thank you and praise You just for who You are. If you never do anything else for me, you have already done enough and I will continue to praise Your name. In Jesus' Wonderful Name I pray Amen.