The Priority of Prayer

 We all have to decide what is really important to us. Of course, we will have to set our priorities because we all have a lot of things we need to do. The most important thing should be what the Lord values the most. He values having a close, personal relationship with each of us. Therefore, He wants us to spend time with Him and to have long, meaningful conversations with us, where we talk to Him and He responds to us. That is just what we mean by prayer.

Besides knowing Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior, there is nothing more important than prayer. Yes, I know there are other priorities, but we can't fulfill them without a vibrant prayer life. Jesus showed us this when He went to Jerusalem to be crucified for us. (Luke 19:46) He said to them, "The Scriptures declare, 'My Temple will be a house of prayer,' but you have turned it into a den of thieves." I wonder what we and our churches may have substituted for prayer being our main priority?

I believe the Bible is very clear that we are to pray "without ceasing." We should pray about everything all the time, and not to worry about anything. We are to constantly show our praise to God in prayer. We are to be sure to thank Him for all of His many blessings. We must be quick to confess our sins, so we can be cleansed and draw back near to God. We are to be praying for others, as we intercede to God for them and their needs. In order for our prayer life to be what it ought to be, we have to be constantly talking with God and doing what He says for us to do.

The same is true for any church, or house of God. I know the church is the people and not the building. However, as members of a church, we are stones built together to honor God and grow in the Lord. We are to worship God from our hearts. How can we do that without meaningful prayer together as a body of Christ? How can we make disciples without God's power? We can't, so we better be praying for God's guidance and power. How can we minister to others well if we are not praying for them? Prayer is vital for every church family. We must not allow anything to be substituted for prayer in our lives and in our churches, or we will not be able to be in God's will as we should.

Tomorrow, I intend to read Luke 20-22.