Sunday, January 4, 2009

Thoughts on Prayer

This morning we had a wonderful service at our church. As it was the first Sunday of the new year, it was a Praise & Prayer service. Instead of a sermon, we spent that time in prayer.

During the service, several quotes on prayer were displayed which were quite convicting. A few of them are listed here, and as I find others I'll share them.

  • When a Christian shuns fellowship with other Christians, the devil smiles. When he stops studying the Bible, the devil laughs. When he stops praying, the devil shouts for joy. --Corrie Ten Boom
  • There is nothing that makes us love a man so much as praying for him. --William Law
  • I have so much to do that I spend several hours in prayer before I am able to do it.—John Wesley
  • The Church is looking for better methods; God is looking for better men. The Holy Ghost does not flow through methods, but through men. He does not come on machinery, but on men. He does not anoint plans, but men…Men of prayer." --E. M. Bounds
In looking for these I found another one by Catherine Marshall: One can believe intellectually in the efficacy of prayer and never do any praying.

Do you struggle with consistency with prayer? How do you address that?

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8 comments:

  1. saraJanuary 4, 2009 at 3:51 PM

    A couple of things have helped me in my prayer time. First, I once heard a speaker say to make an "appointment" with God. Put it on your calendar...it might be different every day, especially when you have young children. But you wouldn't think of standing up any other apt? very true!

    Second, I journal my prayers. I am an easy distracted person. I would be praying and then all of a sudden find myself unloading the washer! When I write my prayers down, it keeps me focused. Plus, I can go back and see how God answered even small things.

    thanks for this reminder today. My prayer time over the Holidays has not been the best.....

    I love the quote by Corrie Ten Boom.

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  2. 2nd Cup of CoffeeJanuary 4, 2009 at 4:24 PM

    Wow, this was really good. And you pastor was "brave" to do this because people find it hard to pray. He gave up "pulpit time" for prayer; that's almost unheard of. I loved the Catherine Marshall quote, especially, but it hit home.

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  3. KellyJanuary 4, 2009 at 4:44 PM

    I love those quotes! I need to apply them to my life. I find that my prayer time is haphazard. I don't have a special sit down time.

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  4. UnknownJanuary 4, 2009 at 5:29 PM

    Great quotes!

    I struggle keeping it consistent and I don't know why. Everything is always so much better when I pray!!

    Our church just finished Jim Cymbala's prayer study. I'm going to share these quotes with my peeps! :-D

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  5. Alicia The SnowflakeJanuary 4, 2009 at 8:01 PM

    I like the William Law quote, "There is nothing that makes us love a man so much as praying for him." This is very true. I have been convicted in my own life to pray for those I might not necessarily 'like'.

    I do struggle with consistency in my prayer life. Keeping a prayer journal helps me stay committed. I also try to pray for someone when I am thinking about them or a need that they have, otherwise I forget. And usually when someone asks for prayer, I try to pray right then with them. Again, it helps me to remember. And it lets that person know they (and their problem) are important to me.

    Thanks for sharing these great quotes. It definitely gives me something to think about as we start the new week :o)

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  6. Robin LambrightJanuary 4, 2009 at 9:08 PM

    I have grown so much in my prayer life over the last few years. Facing difficulties has a way of forcing you to your knees.

    That does not mean that I still have days weeks even when carving out that consistent time each day becomes problematic.

    I find for me that if I do not get up early before anyone else gets up then I simply will not make the time to do it.

    I may tell myself that i will have my quiet time after my daughter leaves for school or when this or that happens but the hard reality is that it rarely gets worked in to my schedule.

    I have to make myself get up early (this also means that I can't stay up to late or I will not want to get up the next morning if I have not had enough sleep, this is a huge sacrifice for me as I tend to be a bit of a night owl) but first thing early in the morning works best for me.

    Blessings
    Robin

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  7. Xandra@Heart-of-ServiceJanuary 5, 2009 at 9:17 AM

    "One can believe intellectually in the efficacy of prayer and never do any praying."

    This one really hit me where I live right now. All the belief in the world doesn't matter if I'm not faithfully praying and renewing my mind in His Word.

    I have decided to devote time each evening to prayer. I know everyone says that mornings are the best time, but I just can't be consistent at that time of day with all the bustle of getting ready for school/work. I'm going to try this for a while and see if it works...

    Thanks for all your words of encouragment on my blog this week...

    Xandra

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  8. AnonymousJanuary 7, 2009 at 3:16 PM

    Love the John Wesley quote.....that is my struggle.....I have so much to do, but I don't first spend the time in prayer. Great quote, I will need to write that one down!

    This is one of my favorite quotes on prayer
    ~The meaning of prayer is that we get hold of God, not of the answer.
    Oswald Chambers

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