Prayer Matters...

Prayer has always been the essence of what this blog is about. In the beginning,'Coach Sam's Prayer Journal' was a work whose focus was to unite division at a church that Monica and I were attending. Then it sort of morphed into an intercessory prayer blog. Now it is a combination of prayer, meditation and study. It's a reflection of my conscience and how the Lord is moving in my life and my growing relationship with HIM.

I've gone round and round about making this a 'public journal' or private one. I am aware of scriptures that say that we should pray in secret: Matthew 6:6 ...But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

And scriptures remarking specifically about public prayer: Matthew 6:5 ...And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.

I have meditated at length about those two scriptures specifically. I have come to the conclusion that I can't control what people think. And I can't let the fear of what others think hinder me or my prayer life. I know my heart. God knows my heart. And those are the only two things that really matter.

The reasons for this blog are stated up front. I'm here to witness, encourage, and share what God is doing with and in my life.

The Lord reminded me something about prayer the other day. I was watching a Beth Moore study video with my wife recently and Beth brought up the scripture:

Ephesians 6:18 ...And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints....

Beth pointed out that We are CALLED to pray.

1. We should pray all the time.
2. We can pray about anything.
3. We should pray about everything.
4. We should pray for everyone.

But Beth went on to ask WHY should we do these things?

The answer: BECAUSE PRAYER MATTERS...!

Prayer can change things. I know that. But the way Beth Moore presented it, the concept really stood out clearly to me yesterday. So much so that it has inspired today's post.

This morning I could not remember the exact scripture Beth referenced at first so I did a word search on prayer in the NIV and came up with 155 scripture references to prayer.

The bible sure has a lot to say about prayer. The next few mornings I'm just going to take some scriptures and explore what has been written about this topic.

Dear Heavenly Father,

Prayer is a blessing. Thank You for prayer, Lord. It's awesome to be able to communicate with You in this way. But Lord, help me to remember that the flow of communication is a two way street. I pray that You enable me to slow down, be quiet, and listen for You. Please don't allow me to do all the talking and none of the listening.

I love You Lord and want to honor You with my prayer. Praise You, Jesus. I bow down in humble submission to You this morning. Let not my life be about me, but You Lord. Today I focus on You. I seek You First this morning. And You are Number One on my 'todo' list all day long. Everything is about You. Everything I do today Lord will be an act of worship to You. Everything will be done to the utmost of my ability for Your Highest Calling.

Today my life will be lived out in worship to You, My King. In Jesus' Name I Pray,

Amen.