Philippians 4:6-7 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. Photo Credit: ©GettyImages/Prostock-Studio Prayer Turns You from a Worrier into a Warrior In exchange for the worldly things that plague us, God provides peace, joy, contentment, and endurance. The best cure for worry, frustrations, temptations, and materialism is to seek God first. Prayer Enables You to Set Your Mind on Things AboveĬolossians 3:2 says, “Set your mind on the things which are above, not on the things which are on the earth.” The Greek word used for “set” in this verse, means “to seek after or to be intent on.” To set your mind on things above is to: Seek after what God desires and to look at life from God’s perspective. Through prayer, we are renewed and transformed because prayer is infused with His spirit. When we pray, we share our innermost being with Him. It brings us closer to Him because He created us with a need to connect with Him. When we pray, it deepens our relationship with God. How could have Jesus known what He was meant to accomplish unless He communed with God? Towards the end of His ministry, Jesus prays, “Father, I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do,” ( John 17:4). In fact, according to early Jewish-Christian tradition, Jesus often prayed at a small grotto near the Mount of Beatitudes. He goes off early in the day before anyone else is awake to notice Him, and He communes with His father. Even though He was the Son of God, He slipped away often to pray. Prayer Brings Us Closer to Godġ Thessalonians 5:17 exhorts us to “Pray continually.” Jesus set this example. Not only is He the Creator that wants to commune with His created-He wants us to reap the benefits of time spent in prayer. He appreciates the work of your hands, but He wants you to know that your prayers are far more important. Whatever is on your to-do list today-whether it’s a sink full of dishes, endless data to enter into a spreadsheet on your desk, a homeschool lesson plan to teach, or a fussy child in your arms-God sees you. If you and I truly understood the benefits of prayer, perhaps we would be more apt to whisper what’s on our hearts fervently as we live out the gift of each day instead of working fervently to produce the work of our hands. The more I think about this story, the more I wonder if my perspective on prayer has grown cold and stale. Ann Voskamp summed up this story best when she wrote “Prayer is not what we do before we work, nor is prayer what we do instead of work. And at the end of the year when his cave overflowed with a year’s worth of toil, he took a torch to the work of his hands and watched the flames devoured it all to ash. Each day without exception, he would work a day’s wage of creating baskets as he prayed. Despite this major detail, Abba Paul collected palm fronds every morning and worked faithfully as if basket-making was his primary source of income. Unlike the other monks who could sell their baskets in town, he had no way to make a traditional living for himself. While the other monks made their homes on the outskirts of cities in order to make a living selling woven baskets, Abba Paul lived further out in a remote area. The most important thing to remember, though, is that no matter how often you pray, God is always ready to listen.In the third century, there was a desert father named Abba Paul who truly understood the benefits of prayer. That's why it's helpful to have some short go-to Bible verses and prayers that can provide guidance and strength through every season of your life, whether you pray every day, week, month, or barely at all. Reading a prayer for today will not only help you feel closer to God, but can also relieve daily stress and anxiety.īut if it's been a while since you read Bible scripture, finding a place to start can feel overwhelming. But having a daily habit of healing through prayer is a great way to stay grounded in your faith on a day-to-day basis and prioritize reflective time between you and God. It can be easy to forget about the habit when life is busy or when everything is going well. For many, daily prayer is something they turn to when life becomes stressful, difficult, or saddening. Some people of faith might not want to admit it, but most can probably remember a time when reciting a daily prayer or two was not exactly a part of their everyday routine.
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