Prayer... As Vital as Air

Pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. James 5:16b

I have always been a big fan of prayer. I love to pray. It is something that I can do anytime and anywhere. If things are slow at work, I can pray and the time goes by quickly. If I am happy, I can share my joy with my best friend. If I am scared, I can give it to God and know that I don't really have anything to fear. The God of the universe is protecting me.

One of my most things to do when I pray is to pray for people that I love. During times when I feel helpless and wish that I could do more to help people I love, I know that I can take the burden to the Lord. As James tells us, our prayers are powerful and effective, because they are being heard by God himself.

Something else I am learning to do is to pray for people that I don't necessarily like. Just because I don't like them doesn't mean God doesn't love them. God loves everyone and the more I pray for them the harder it is not to be infused with God's love for them. God gives me His eyes, His heart. I am (and so are you) called to love everyone. We are all His creation. It isn't easy, but it is the right thing to do.

I could go on and on about prayer. There are so many ways to pray and it is such a vital part of a Christian's life. It is our connecting to God, our life source. There are times when we can be doing 20 other things and still praying. There are other times when we need to be more intentional, go into a special room, or kneel and block everything out and just focus on praying (and listening).

I also think it is a good idea to keep a prayer journal. Reading it through it and seeing how God answers your prayers is a good way to bolster your faith. We will not always be on the mountaintop. There will be times when we need a reminder, a boost, and seeing old prayers and knowing the outcome is a great way to do just that!

So, what are ways that you use prayer? Do you have a favorite room, or favorite verse that you love to pray?

-JLP-