Prayer is a Lifestyle...
Prayer is essential for living the Christian life. It is where we find deep intimacy with God and the power, boldness, and strength to live out our faith. Daily we face countless pressures. People, TV, family, teachers and the myriad of influences press in to mold us, to make us in their image. Too often the pressures come from within ourselves. All too often we struggle with our own desires and temptations. It is in prayer, in daily time set aside to meet with God, that we will find the strength to stand firm in our faith, resist temptation and grow in our relationship with Jesus Christ.
The Apostle Paul reminds the Christians of Ephesus to “Pray at all times and on every occasion in the power of the Holy Spirit. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all Christians everywhere.” (6:18). Paul similarly wrote to the Christians in Thessalonica, “Always be joyful. Keep on praying. No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” (5:17) If we were to take all of Paul’s writings on Prayer we would find that prayer is not an activity it is a lifestyle. It is a continuous, unending, communication of talking and listening to God. It is in prayer that we are able to live and grow in our relationship with God. Without prayer our Christian witness lacks the vitality to convince ourselves let alone others of the greatness of God. For as EM Bounds wrote, “The world judges religion not by what the Bible the Bible says, but by how Christians life. Christians are the Bible which sinners read. These are the epistles to be read by all men.”