Scripture

Rejoice always; pray without ceasing.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-17, NKJV

Quote

“God instituted prayer to communicate to creatures the dignity of causality.”

~Blaise Pascal

I’ve been thinking a lot about prayer lately and it has dawned upon me that when a person’s name comes to my mind, I should pray for them that very moment. I believe this is the working of the Holy Spirit. Bro. Inman said many times that Paul did not intend that we stay on our knees 24/7 but that we remain in an attitude of prayer all the time. I Thessalonians 5:17 is pretty much the same no matter what the translation…Pray without ceasing…The NIV reads “pray continually,” and the CSB reads “pray constantly.” I admit that a prayer list is helpful but sometimes the LORD puts someone on my heart that is not on the list, and I have learned to stop and pray for them at that very moment.

What about praying for those who have hurt or disappointed us? When they come to mind, stop and pray for them. There is no guarantee that those you pray for are going to change but you will be blessed by praying for them. If you don’t believe me, just try it!

I believe the Holy Spirit brings people to mind that need our prayers and our help. Sometimes we need to follow up on our prayers with a text, phone call or a visit. I remember one of my sons in the ministry who was a deacon in the first church I served out of seminary; he would pray, “LORD, help us to put some legs on our prayers.” Sam was right; when we pray for God to bless someone, our next prayer is, “LORD do You need to use me as an instrument to bring about this blessing?”

Extra

Well, my weather apt was right, she dipped below freezing last night and we have more coming. Yet I cannot complain. Except for the week before Christmas, we have had a mild winter.

Have a great day and thanks for reading the blog.

Sorry about the late post. I thought I did it earlier but sometimes you have to hit the button twice and I didn’t wait to see.