Pray!

For Wednesday, May 1, 2024:

Colossians 4:2 NLT: “Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart.”

We are to be vigilant in prayer, but always praying with thanksgiving for the great things God has done. God wants to know that you’re still in the game with him, but it should be a 2-way conversation. Your prayer should include love and thanksgiving for the Lord, not just personal requests.

Why pray? Jesus told a parable of a judge who did not fear God, or for that matter, men. A widow came to the judge persistently asking for justice. I believe her unrelenting requests wore him down! “Though I do not fear God nor regard man, yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.”

When praying for justice, don’t think you can wear God down. God has three answers to our requests: yes, no, and not just yet. Yes is easy. The problem is solved, the situation resolved. ‘No’ and ‘not just yet’ can be confusing. Did God say ‘no,’ or perhaps things will go my way later?

The Lord’s Prayer handles this well. “Thy will be done.” Not MY will but THY will! Rather than asking God for YOUR way, ask him to show you HIS way!

You could pray right now if you wanted to!

Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship