I’m excited to have Proverbs 31 Ministries publish a devotional I wrote. I read their Encouragement for Today post every morning. I hope this one speaks to your heart:
https://proverbs31.org/read/devotions/full-post/2022/03/25/fear-not!-your-time-will-come
1 Thessalonians 5:17 (GNT)
Pray at all times.
You may be thinking, “Nope. I don’t have time for that.”
This is a picture of the Western Wall in Jerusalem (credit: Pixabay). These big stones are all that remain of the Temple destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD. It’s now a place of prayer. Look carefully, and you’ll see slips of paper stuffed in the cracks. Folks write out their prayers and push them into the empty spaces.
Picture your schedule as a wall of stones. Pray into the cracks.
There’s lots of space for prayer.
1 Timothy 2:1 (MSG)
Pray every way you know how,
for everyone you know.
For almost tw0 decades, I drove an hour to and from work. Much of that time was spent in prayer. I prayed for people I knew: family, friends, coworkers. I prayed for people I didn’t know: children waiting for the school bus, other drivers, construction workers. I prayed over the news. I prayed for politicians. I prayed for refugees.
My car was my best prayer space. What’s yours?
Matthew 6:6 (ERV)
But when you pray, you should go into your room and close the door. Then pray to your Father.
In the movie War Room (which I heartily recommend), a closet becomes the prayer room.
It’s nice, but not essential, to have a room dedicated to prayer.
Susanna Wesley, mother of John and Charles Wesley*, prayed long and often in the main room of her home . . . as her ten children studied, played or worked around her. Mother Wesley’s prayer room was the space under the kitchen apron she pulled over her head.
Wherever you meet God — that’s your prayer room.
*John Wesley is considered the Father of the Methodist Church. Charles Wesley wrote more than 6000 hymns. Together, these two men had a major impact on Christians in England and the US in the 1700’s. Their influence continues to this day.
Matthew 6:6 (MEV)
But you, when you pray,
enter your closet,
and when you have
shut your door,
pray to your Father
who is in secret.
You and God, sharing secrets.
Matthew 6:6 (CEB)
But when you pray, go to your room, shut the door, and pray to your Father who is present in that secret place. Your Father who sees what you do in secret will reward you.
I have a secret prayer space, a place I share with God alone. He hears what I say (think) during my private prayer time — things no one else knows. And that’s a comfort.
You too have a secret prayer place. It’s where you share your dreams, frustrations, doubts and questions. You, your secrets . . . and God.
It’s almost spring!
I love the four seasons: winter, spring, summer, fall. Each season is special.
There are four seasons to my prayers, too.
Humbly pray through all four seasons.
Forgive me, Lord,
when I fail to see You at work in the silence of winter;
for believing those springtime seeds are my own doing;
for thinking I’m the power behind summer’s growth;
when I take credit for the autumn fruit.
Thank You, Lord, for all You do.
There are seasons of blessings.
Answers to prayer roll down.
Doors open. Opportunities line up.
John 1:16 (AMP)
For out of His fullness [the superabundance of His grace and truth] we have all received grace upon grace [spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing, favor upon favor, and gift heaped upon gift].
God’s timeline includes well-watered seasons.
Psalm 63:1 (NIV)
You, God, are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
I thirst for you,
my whole being longs for you,
in a dry and parched land
where there is no water.
Yes, there will be dry seasons of prayer.
Times when God seems far off.
Times of waiting.
“Never give up prayer, and should you find dryness and difficulty, persevere in it for this very reason. God often desires to see what love your soul has, and love is not tried by ease and satisfaction.”
St. John of the Cross (1542-1591)
