OUR NEED FOR PRAYER

Heb. 13:18 Pray for us, for our conscience is clear and we want to live honorably in everything we do.

This should be the desire of every believer's heart, to be prayed for so that he can live honorably in everything he does. Let's face it, we need prayer. No one can live successfully in Christ without prayer. We need to pray for ourselves and we need the prayers of the body of Christ. The more prayer support we have, the more successful we will be. It baffles me how we think we can live in Christ without it. We don't pray often enough for ourselves or others. Prayer is considered an optional part of our spiritual lives. We fail to grasp the importance of prayer.

Who do most of the praying? Those who don't know Christ as the personal Savior. Think about it, the Muslims pray, the Buddhists pray, those caught up in cults pray, Hindus pray, just about everybody who believes in some kind of a god prays. Yet, we who claim to know God, fail to pray. Isn't it ironic? I wonder what the Lord thinks of us?

Who do we let do most of our praying for us? Is it not our pastors, spiritual leaders, and friends? We somehow have gotten the idea that if we join in on the prayers offered during church services that it is enough to satisfy our needs. We can never learn how to pray for ourselves except by doing it for ourselves. We will never let God know we care about Him unless we actually pray.

When we pray, we are talking things over with God. It is an act of worship and it shows respect for God. It is showing God we are grateful for the privilege of approaching Him. Prayer is our connecting point with God. So, why aren't we praying? Don't we have a sense of our need to be in the presence of God? I suspect that one of the reasons why we have a hard time really sensing God's presence in worship is that we are not connecting with God daily in our lives. The only way we are going to effectively live with clear consciences is to stay in touch with our Father. I need your prayers and you need mine.

"Lord, I ask that all who read this devotional today will have a pure heart before you. I ask, Lord, that you will speak to their hearts right now about any sinful thoughts or deeds they may have. Lord, purify them so that they will know the peace of a pure heart. Forgive them of their sins so that they can face today with a clear conscience. Lord, help each one to live a life of honor before you today in all they do. May others see Jesus clearly in and through them. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.