Devoted to Prayer

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.

Colossians 4:2

The great Reformer Martin Luther once said, “As it is the business of tailors to make clothes and of cobblers to mend shoes, so it is the business of Christians to pray.”*  But many simply don’t! And those who do, often don’t dedicate any real time to prayer. They don’t pray fervently. They don’t pray earnestly. They toss short, half-hearted prayers up to the Lord here or there, but that’s all.

Colossians 4:2 says that God expects you to be devoted to prayer. When you’re devoted to something, you make it a priority. You make sacrifices for it.** 

David Brainerd sets an example for us here. He was a man devoted to prayer. Brainerd was an 18th century missionary to Native Americans. He used to go outside to pray in the woods. He would kneel in the snow to pray. By the time David was done praying... a big ring of snow would be thawed all around him from his body heat alone.*** That's devotion to prayer! 

Are you devoted to prayer? Do you consistently set aside time just to pray? You should! Let me encourage you to establish a regular practice of prayer. Start with 5-10 minutes a day of focused prayer. Pray for your spouse, for your children, your grandchildren, your church, yourself, and for the lost. You may never know what great tragedies are avoided and or what great victories are won simply because you made time to pray.

*John Blanchard comp., Gathered Gold (Welwyn, Hertfordshire, England: Evangelical Press, 1984). page 2. Quoted in Whitney, Donald S. Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life (Coloardo Springs, CO: NavPress, 2002) Page 68.

**Whitney, Donald S. Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life (Coloardo Springs, CO: NavPress, 2002) Page 67.

***https://footstepsinthedeep.wordpress.com/2012/05/15/the-life-and-diary-of-david-brainerd-by-jonathan-edwards/