Let us pray, Let us pray..

Every day and every way, every moment of the day it is the right time...Prayer.

I have recognized that in my past I did not pray nearly enough, and it's such a crucial part of the relationship God designed, we speak, He answers. We see Him work by the answers to our prayers, and our faith is encouraged, and the relationship flourishes more and more. However, if we never ask, we never think to look for answers and we then miss out on all the encouragement He had in store for us.

Remember that old song by Steven Curtis Chapman? Let us pray? Well, it's true. Every moment of the day it is the right time. Let us pray without end and when we finish start again, like breathing out and breathing in, let us pray.

Those are some of the lyrics and they have been running through my mind all day..by no coincidence, because when I opened up my daily devotional by Ray Stedman this morning, this is what God had to say to me about prayer there:

"Part of the reason so many are finding Christianity to be boring is because they are not experiencing the kind of Christian living described in this passage. They have not entered into this kind of relationship, where each day they experience the glorious adventure of seeing a living God at work, answering prayer, and giving to them things that they ask. But in this passage we have a beautiful picture of the normal life of a Christian. It is all centered in prayer, because prayer is the most fundamental relational activity that a Christian can experience. Prayer is the expression of dependence on a loving God, and the whole Christian life is to be characterized by a continuous attitude and spirit of prayer."

Why is this so important to me? Because as of late, I feel like my breath has been a prayer, but not so for most of my life. I was driving through a small town today near my home and I found myself praying for this town, one because my Sister just moved there, and two, because God is moving there due to a new church plant.

Which before friends, I'm telling you in all honesty...I never would have prayed for that. Now, as I sit here in my sickness, I find my breath moving in and out is a prayer for healing for myself, and also, a prayer for others who are sick....I never would have prayed for that before either.

What I am saying here, is that what Ray talked about in the above quote, the richness of the relationship in a Christians life deepens when prayer is present, I have seen that happen first hand in my own life...and the more you do it, the more you do it without thinking.

It's like breathing. And that makes sense, because God is to be our breath of life, our air. And lately, I feel as though I've been taking huge gulps of it every second of every day. Maybe that is why God has allowed some trial in my life, so I need that angle of our relationship. Every season, a new angle of our relationship begins to unveil itself to me...the many new ways I find that I need God. It's such a dependence. I need Him so bad. And I think He wants me this way.

Not that He is a God sitting in heaven throwing evil upon people so we turn and notice Him, but God does use the evil in this world that affects us, to draw us nearer to Him, and make something bad, good.

Sickness =bad in my world. However, in God's kingdom sickness can =dependence on God, which =a deeper relationship with Him which =health in that individuals heart. See how things work in kingdom mathematics? Pretty cool. And if it where not for prayer, that equation, would be meaningless to me, and perhaps to all of you as well.

So next time you think that "maybe you should pray more.." Stop what your doing, (unless your driving) :) and pray. I talk to God a lot when I'm driving....(mostly to tune out the sound of my children screaming in the back seat) but needless to say, I pray.

And I know He restores my soul...my health is fleeting, and I know good days are to come...although it is hard to keep that perspective, I do try, and I pray that I can. So friends, do now, what I did not do in my past, and make your present, a dependant, constant conversation with the Lord, and watch and see what He does in your heart. It's simply beautiful, and healthy.