PRAY BEFORE THE PHONE RINGS

Our daughter was in bed, but her husband was doing an extra good job of rattling the walls.  (This family has six people and, believe me, they all snore.  Of course, they tell me the same thing.)  Anyway, back to the story.  Terri got up, went out to the living room, and decided to read.  As she was reading, she felt the urge to pray for son number two, Joshua.

Terri figured she was to pray for Joshua getting ready to leave for his adventure of higher education.  So she did.  Another urge to pray, but this time she also felt the need to pray for his protection.  So she did.

A few minutes later the phone rang.  “Mom I am okay, but I had a wreck.”

PRAY BEFORE

PRAY BEFORE THE NEED:

Have you ever had to sudden urge to pray for someone?  It is like a small voice in your head.  A stirring of your Spirit. 

Maybe you decided to put that person on your list for later.  Maybe you stopped and prayed immediately. 

When the call to pray is felt, there is a need.  An immediate need.  It cannot wait till later.  Even though you do not know the need, immediately lift the person up to God.

PRAY BEFORE YOU STUDY:

I wish I could say I had a regular routine for spending time studying and reading the Bible.  There is one thing I know.  If I start my study time by turning to a passage or turning to the next page in a study, it will not go well.  The scriptures will be words on the page and the study will bring more questions than answers. 

When I pray before I study, before even opening the Bible, the scriptures seem relevant and the study leads me in the right direction.

PRAY BEFORE YOU DECIDE:

Big decisions – scary!  Every decision has a consequence.  Do not want to brush your teeth?  Get ready for cavities.  We make decisions all day long.  Some are common sense and others are routine, until we have to make a big decision.  Is this the right person to marry?  Should I take a new job opportunity?  Should we move to another town?  What church do we go to?  As we face big decisions, we think about it.  We look at all the options.  We might even make a list with columns for Positive and Negative.  Then we decide.  I do not know about you, but, whenever I have made decisions that way, they usually do not turn out.  Way too many times I have made major decisions without praying about them first. 

When I pray for guidance before making decisions, I will see the path to the wise choice.

PRAY -----

PRAY CONTINUALLY      1 Thessalonians 5:23

I do believe that says it all.  

When should we pray?   CONTINUALLY of course.