When should you pray? I encourage you to pray as often as possible. Consider praying when you first wake up in the morning. The Psalmist suggests praying in the morning, noon, and evening. The Apostle Paul, in his letter to the Ephesians, recommended “pray at all times.”
All of us have pressing issues that we need to reflect on daily. Let’s not only pray when trouble surrounds us, but also when things are going great. If you are like most people, good times can make you trust in yourself instead of God. So, remember to pray even in your most prosperous times.
Often troubled times drive us to pray. A bad medical report, a lost job, or a troubled marriage might all cause you to pray. Your urgency in your hour of need naturally leads you to seek God’s help to intervene.
When God allows troubled times into our lives, it can be his way of getting our attention to communicate with him. The prophet Hosea said, “in their misery they will earnestly seek God.” God wants above all things that we communicate and confide in him in our time of need.
In many sports, athletes interviewed by the media will invoke the will of God by saying that they thank their Lord and Savior for the outcome. If you are a fan of NASCAR, like my wife, you may notice that a Chaplain or Minister delivers a prayer to God for the safety of the drivers before the race begins.
Every person whose life has ever counted for God has been a person of prayer. We are called to follow the Lord’s example, and his entire life was saturated with prayer. He rose early in the morning to pray. He prayed while on his journeys, and he sought out solitary places to communicate with his father.
Our prayers shows that we have a declaration of dependence on God. This is a wonderful way to look at prayer, because we are powerless without it. This is why so many people are driven to praying when they get in trouble, never thinking to pray when life is going along the way they want it to.
When facing a serious health crisis or other unwelcome news, few people would resist prayer. However, true prayer is a way of life, not just for use in emergencies. We must make it a habit, so that when a need arises, we are prepared. So Be blessed, and Never Give Up! Never Give Up! Never Give Up!
Dr. Walter Ghosten
