Devoted to Prayer
What does being devoted to prayer mean to you?
Verse of the Day
‘Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart.’
Today’s Devotional
This one seems pretty straight forward, but….is it?
I used to think that the only way I could be devoted to prayer was if I was a monk or on some kind of silent spiritual retreat. I now know that’s not true. I can be devoted to my husband even though I am not with him all the time, since we both work in different places. I can make choices all throughout the day that will honor him. I can call or text him when I have a momentary break in the busyness of the day, just so that he knows that I am thinking of him. I start my day waking up next to him, and I end my day by telling him good night. We talk a couple of times during the day, and we spend time telling each other about our day – both the good and the bad. I don’t make any big decisions in my life without talking to him. And we talk about those things many times before any decisions are made.
Maybe that’s what being devoted in prayer looks like. I can ask God for help to make choices that honor Him. I can say simple prayers of gratitude and acknowledgement as I have breaks during my day. I can talk to God about the good and the bad. I can ask for His guidance in my decisions. Maybe being a person devoted to prayer has nothing to do with being a monk, but instead has to do with frequent and necessary conversation with God.
Now let’s talk about the “alert mind” piece of this verse. One of the definitions of alert is “quick to perceive and act”. So as I’m praying, I need to be watchful for God’s answers. I need to be still and quiet in order to hear the still, small voice that is directing me to God’s will. I need to be listening, sometimes to other believers, for God’s direction. I need to be looking for “signs” of how God is asking me to proceed. When the answers come, and they will if I am alert to them, I need to be willing to act, even if the answers are not what I want them to be.
I personally do not believe that “alert” here means that it’s wrong to fall asleep while I’m praying. If God is my Father, then how can a Father be upset if His child crawls into His lap and falls asleep in the middle of a conversation. As a parent, that is a sweet moment.
And as I’m praying, and watching for answers, and getting ready to act in obedience to the answers – I need to be thankful. I need to be grateful that I can talk directly to God because of the sacrifice of Jesus. I need to be grateful for prior answered prayers which builds my faith and helps me to bring every matter to the Father. The list of things I can be grateful for is never ending.
One last thought. A great hero of our faith, Ravi Zacharias, died recently. Here is what he said about prayer: “If you are not a praying person, you must carry your faith. If you are a praying person, your faith carries you.” May our prayers build our faith to the point that we are carried through every step of every day.
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
How can you be devoted to God in your prayers today?
How can you be more alert to His answers? Are you willing to act on those answers?
What are you grateful for today?
How is your faith carrying you today?