Make Prayer A High Priority

Make Prayer A High Priority

How do you prioritize your time each day?  For most people, an eight hour a day job takes up at least ten hours a day with lunch and travel time.  Many people claim that they are not morning people and that getting to work 15 to 20 minutes late each day is justifiable as long as they tack it on at the end of the day.  It is hard for me to understand this, “Not a morning person concept.”  No one is born that way; it is a result of socialization which at some point is a matter of choice. 

Commuting by bus to his daily job, Dad had to leave the house by 6:25 am every morning.  Mom always had breakfast on the table at 6:03 am, and you could set your watch by it.  That meant that the entire household had to arise by 5:30; in order to come dressed to the breakfast table.  My commute to college put me on the same bus as Dad in order to be on time for an 8:00 am class.

Since a major chunk of our daily schedule is out of our control by our work and school, how do you make God a priority with prayer?  Sharing Dad’s schedule through my four years of high school and four more years of college; prayer time was from 5:00 am to 5:30 am every morning.  There is a great blessing to put prayer first in your day. 

But you might be one of those fuzzy morning people who are not functional until 10:00 am.  If that is the case, you’ll have to find a schedule that works for you.  The early morning schedule worked well for me during high school and college, but has eluded me for the past 25 years.  It is my experience; that the human body functions best on a regular schedule, even on weekends.

Making God a priority through prayer, will require a commitment to a time that will work best for your schedule.  The important thing is to plan ahead and set a goal to pray a certain amount of time each day and stick with it.  Keep a prayer log and maybe even a prayer list.  Keeping a list of people who need your prayers helps you remember them.  Make a standard list of prayer needs that need daily and repetitive prayer; such as family members, friends, coworkers and supervisors.  If there is no acute need in their lives; pray for blessing of health and protection; pray for spiritual, emotional, physical and financial blessings.  These are the people in your daily life who need God’s blessing through your prayers.  Pray for your church’s mission, ministry and leadership; pray for foreign missions and specific missionaries that your church supports; pray for youth programs and all of the children.

A pastor friend of mine gave a sermon a few years ago and made the statement, “Pray big; God can handle it.”  Sometimes we think that we shouldn’t pray for something big; but as my friend pointed out; there is no example of anyone asking God for too much or for something too big.  The follow scripture is given here in three translations.  Each one says the say thing with a slightly different slant.  Put them all together and feel confident is your prayers.

Ephesians 3:20 KJV  Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,

Ephesians 3:20 CEV I pray that Christ Jesus and the church will forever bring praise to God. His power at work in us can do far more than we dare ask or imagine. Amen.

Ephesians 3:20 MSG God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.

Prayer is a gift and a blessing from God.  He anxiously waits to hear from us.  Make prayer a high priority in your life.  The LORD will transform you through your prayers.