WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS ABOUT PRAYER

Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with thanksgiving. - Colossians 4:2. A call to devotional, vigilant prayer.  And once again, keep it thankful! There are two parts to this verse, the devotion and the vigil.  Both have become recognizable rituals in many faith communities in which prayer is central, but we tend to think of devotions as a daily routine while the prayer vigil is typically reserved for an extreme instance, when someone is missing or sick or at death's door.  But why not combine the two? I will be the first to admit that my set-aside time for devotions is not as daily as it should be, but maybe more vigilance, more awareness of the daily presence of God, is what I need to make it so. We are encouraged by no less than the Lord's prayer.  In teaching us to pray, Jesus intended our prayer to be daily, at  Matthew 6:11: "Give us this day our daily bread." The early Christians made it routine, too, and with a decidedly thankful s...

Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. - Romans 12:12. Another instructive trifecta, supplementing joy with hope and ceaseless prayer with perseverance and calling anew for patience. Patience, with hope and perseverance, has already been a part of the supplementary verses we have seen.  Remember Peter's vigil at  1 Peter 5:7-8: "And when you have suffered for a little while, ...God ...will ...restore, support, strengthen and establish you." Remember the faith from Hebrews, reminding us that God is encouraging us to  "run with perseverance" (Hebrews 12:1) .  We are called to believe that God is at work. And recall God's reminder at  Jeremiah 29:11: "For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord."   We may not immediately see God's future for us, but God cares about our daily welfare and wants us to have hope. Another well-known verse comes to mind, from  Psalm 23:4: "Even though I walk through th...

Give ear to my words, O Lord; give heed to my sighing.  Listen to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to you I pray.  O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I plead my case to you, and watch. - Psalm 5:1-3 An appeal to God to listen, a resolve to call out daily and a reminder to be vigilant. First, the appeal: Look at all the auditory words here: give ear to my words, heed my sighing, listen to the sound of my cry, hear my voice and my pleading.  It is comforting to remember the words of 1 John 2:1: "We have an advocate with the Father," but it is just as important to know that we have a voice, and God hears us.  See Psalm 18:6: "In my distress I called upon the Lord; to my God I cried for help.  From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears." Next, the resolve: We should make it a habit to call on the Lord.  Here David speaks of his "morning" routine, but we can easily expand this.  See Da...