Growing Commitment in Prayer
“Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving”-Colossians 4:2
Commitment. It is a word we hear often but do we really understand the meaning? We hear of commitment in relationships, exercise, sports, and other activities of life. How often the commitment to do or stop doing something on Sunday is gone by Monday morning? So, what is commitment? Cambridge dictionary defines it “as a willingness to give your time and energy to something you believe in.
There is much in this definition to help us in growing our commitment to prayer. First, we must believe in prayer. I am sure we all believe in prayer, but do we genuinely believe and trust in its power with all our hearts? What we strongly believe in and desire is what we will make a priority. To commit to prayer, we must believe in it passionately. Second, we must be willing to give. In other words, we must be willing to sacrifice our time and energy. I am sure we all make sacrifices in our lives. We make sacrifices of our time and energy for our family, our work, our friendships, and, often, our hobbies. If prayer is our priority, should we not also sacrifice our time and energy by working out our daily schedule and working through our tiredness?
Why is prayer so important and what can we do to become more committed? We must first remember to whom we are praying. Prayer is our communication to and with God, our Heavenly Father. This should be the most important relationship in our lives. For us to get to know and love our Heavenly Father, we must take time to communicate with him. My favorite verses and image in the Bible are given in Genesis 3:8-9. We see Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day. This is such a beautiful picture. God apparently came down into the garden to walk and talk with his children. It was a beautiful time of fellowship. Sadly, this would be the last time. God calls out “Where are you?" He had come to have his time with them, and they were hiding. The gospel is God’s plan to restore this fellowship with his children. We can walk with him in the garden today through our prayers. He is waiting and calling to us, “Where are you?”
Just as their sin got in the way of their time with God, there are many things that get in our way of our walk with and time with God by prayer. How can we remove the things that are in our way and commit to prayer? The following are some suggestions:
- Remember to whom you are praying. Our Heavenly Father is waiting to hear from us. Communication brings communion.
- Schedule a time to which you can commit. Make it a priority!
- Remember to pray throughout the day. We are told to live a life of prayer. Just like we would do with a spouse, a parent, or a close friend, share your joyful moments, share your hard decisions, and anything else of importance to you.
- Pray with others.
- Incorporate worship. When we pray and worship together, we touch the biblical model of the throne room.
- Memorize biblical prayers. Prayers in scripture can help us learn to pray.
- Incorporate silence in our prayer time. “Be still and know that I am God…”-Psalms 46:10
What are the keys to commitment? We must remember the purpose behind why we are praying. We must be willing to sacrifice our time and energy and dedicate it to prayer. We must face and remove the obstacles to prayer.
What one step can we take today to become more consistent in prayer? What would keep us from doing it? How do we plan to remove that obstacle?