Pray without ceasing...

Ephesians 6:18
Philippians 4:6-7
1 Thessalonians 5:16-17

Prayer is such a wonderful blessing that God has given us. When we have accepted Christ as our Savior, we have direct access to God through prayer. This is an amazing fact that I really can't seem to get over and yet how many times do I let the opportunity to pray pass me by? Do I really "pray continually"?

We have heard it said a million times that there is power in prayer. This is true, true, true! With that being said, what is holding us back from unleashing this insurmountable power? In my life, I am certain that it is the work of the enemy. It seems like whenever I try to schedule out time to pray something always gets in the way. The phone rings, the boys wake up, the door bell rings, etc. Sometimes it is not only the busyness of life that keeps me from praying. Sometimes even in our relationship with God we will choose to do anything but pray thinking that these other "religious activities" are more important. I read a quote from Beth Moore that validates this point:

"Often, we do everything but pray. We tend to want something more "substantial." Even studying the Bible, going to church, talking to the pastor, or receiving counsel seems more tangible than prayer. What victory the enemy has in winning us over to prayerlessness! ...He knows that prayerless lives are powerless lives, while prayerful lives are powerful lives!

I don't know about you, but I want a powerful life! But, how do we change from being prayerless women to being prayer warriors? There have been many circumstances that God has used in my life to urge me to pray more. One of them was the situation with my mom, while another was when I struggled with postpartum depression. Unfortunately, sometimes it takes a bad situation to cause us to do what we should have been doing all along.

A friend of mine recently told me that up until the last 6 months that she truly struggled with prayerlessness. However, when her sister was diagnosed with cancer everything changed. This experience has taught her total dependency on God. At the end of our conversation she made the most amazing statement, "I would never want to go back to life the way it was before". What an awesome transformation prayer has had on her life.

I don't want it to take another difficult situation for me. I want to continue seeking God daily in prayer. I would like to offer some practical ways to start to commune with God more and more each day:

• Pray out loud.
• Write down your specific praises and/or requests.
• When someone asks you to pray for them or a situation, stop and pray with them right then.
• Talk with God while you are going about the normal activities of your day i.e. in the shower, while cooking supper, while vacuuming, sitting in car line, etc. He really is always with us so just talk to Him! I personally love to tell God about things that happen with my children or in Bible study. I know that He knows, but I just like to tell Him!
• Don't try to use eloquent speech, just talk to Him with your own thoughts.
• Pray scripture. This is a totally awesome experience and a wonderful way to pray His will because it is His Word!
  

If you have other ways that God is using in your life to help you "pray continually", please post them here. I would love to hear your ideas! Know that I am truly praying for you and thank God for each of you!