I sat down to write this contribution shortly after having our daily reading that was centred on a few verses from 2 Chronicles 20. The chapter records how “A vast army was marching against” the nation and king Jehoshaphat was “terrified by this news and begged the Lord for guidance.” And then, verse 5 “He prayed”.
This action by the king reminded me of a time when I chaired a church committee that met monthly. One of the older members asked to say something at the start of one meeting and I reluctantly agreed. He expressed his concern that we were not spending any time in prayer during our meetings, apart from a brief prayer at the start and end of each meeting. Flashing through my mind was the unspiritual thought that we started at 7.30 pm and didn’t usually finish until 11 pm so my reaction was we don’t have to time for prayer.
Probably, not very enthusiastically, I suggested we start with a time of prayer, and to my amazement we finished at 10 pm. The outcome of that dear man’s suggestion was having made time for prayer, our minds were more concentrated, and with God’s help, our meetings were shorter and more enjoyable.
The story is told of a vicar who called at the home of a man who had not attended church for some months and enquired as to why he had been absent. The man replied, “I can pray at home, can’t I?” to which the vicar responded, “But do you?”
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, please teach us the value of prayer and enable us to enjoy opportunities for regular prayer times with You. AMEN