Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Prayer Is Powerful

"Why are you sleeping?" he asked them. "Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation." -- Luke 22:46

Temptation is all around us. Every day. It never goes away, whether it's a TV show we shouldn't be watching, a party we really shouldn't attend or an attitude we really should adjust. It's just so easy to sin. It is. And it's easy to make excuses. It's not so easy to be strong enough to resist the temptation.

Jesus told us what to do. Pray. And keep praying. It's a whole lot more difficult to sin when you're on your knees before God. It's much harder to be angry and stay angry. It's harder to make bad choices. Not impossible. Just more difficult. Satan has a difficult time snatching you away when you're in God's Presence.

Part of praying is reading and studying God's Word. It's not just telling Him what you want and what you need Him to do for you. It's listening to Him. It's paying attention to what He says. It's following His will for your life.

Whenever time gets short and excuses abound, sit down and ask yourself why. Are you avoiding God for a reason? What? You're not? Then why aren't you spending time with Him? That's what praying is, you know. It's spending time with God. Same thing when you read His Word and reflect on what He's telling you. That's all spending time with Him. So if you don't pray or read the Bible, well, you're avoiding God.

Don't know where to start? One good thing about God is that you don't need a script. You don't have to organize a plan. You sure don't need any answers. Just call out to Him. He'll meet you where you are and tell you all you'll ever need to know. Prayer. The power behind it is simply amazing.