“Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.” Colossians 4:2 ESV
Steadfast means resolutely or dutifully firm and unwavering. Synonyms include committed, devoted, dedicated, reliable. The Greek word means to “attend constantly.” It means to persist in, to persevere in. What does this mean in our lives? Paul encourages believers to have a lifestyle of prayer. A lifestyle of prayer is composed of two parts. One part is quality time alone with the Lord dedicated to prayer. The other part is spontaneous prayer. That is regular prayer interspersed throughout the day as we face different temptations, decisions, or challenges. These are the prayer one-liners like, “God, give me wisdom.” “Keep me safe.” “Jesus, help me.” When we have that intimate time with God on a regular basis the spontaneous prayers are more powerful because they match our lifestyle. There are so many distractions in life, forces which pull our attention in many different directions. It is even harder to focus on prayer than it was in the past. Smart phones are often the last thing people look at before they sleep (not their spouse), and the first thing people look at when they wake up. How much do people in your country spend on screen time on average each day? India. 7.18 hours. France. 5.3 hours. Mexico 8.55 hours. Brazil, Philippines, and South Africa are all over 10 hours. What does that mean? It means that there are a lot of distractions! Realizing we are in a spiritual battle. Satan wants to keep us from prayer. His favourite method is distraction. The enemy wants us to pray later. Are you being distracted?
PRAYER THOUGHT
Lord Jesus, help us to be aware of the distractions that stop us praying.
PRAYER FOR TODAY
Lord Jesus, help us by Your Holy Spirit to be aware of the distractions that the enemy puts forward that stops us from praying. AMEN
INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)
Matthew 26:17-30
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