I guess it was yesterday that I was finishing reading the book of Colossians, and I noticed a couple of things about prayer, and I thought I'd share.

For one, in Colossians 4:2, Paul tells the church to "devote themselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving."

In discussing this with my family, I came to the conclusion that I do not devote myself to prayer. In fact, my prayer life is one of those things about my faith I let slide all the time. Very rarely do I set aside time to pray, and when I don't do that, I often forget to pray at all. It's a shame, really, because it also indicates I'm probably not always aware of God's presence in my life at every moment.

Recently, I've gotten better. My goal is prayer in the morning and at night, and whenever I think of it throughout the day. My goal is to make my life a prayer. Whenever I think of something I'm thankful for, I give thanks then and there. Whenever I'm overjoyed by something, I praise God in that moment. Whenever I need help with something, I ask for His Spirit to empower me to do His will. And whenever someone else is in need, I pray for them the moment I think of it, or else I'll likely forget and never get around to it.

It's a habit I have to form, and it isn't exactly easy. I'm so used to being distracted and thinking, but I'm not used to actively communicating with God. That's where the second thing I noticed comes in to play, though.

Colossians 4:12 - "Epaphras, who is one of your number, a bondslave of Jesus Christ, sends you his greetings, always laboring earnestly for you in his prayers, that you may stand perfect and fully assured in all the will of God."

That's the NASB. Young's Literal Translation uses "striving" in place of "laboring," and the ESV uses "struggling."

Point being, sometimes we must labor in our prayers. Sometimes it will be very hard to manage to "pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17) and to "pray at all times" (Ephesians 6:18), but we are called to live lives of consistent communication with our God.

One thing that helps me to live a life devoted to prayer is realizing what a privilege it is to even be able to speak with God and have Him listen! Jesus tore the veil the moment He died, and we are now reconciled to God. He is with us! He hears us!

So... this is an area of my life in need of discipline, and it's one I'm working on. I encourage any readers to also exercise self-control, and learn to devote yourself to prayer. Practically speaking, it's one of the the most beautiful, amazing, sacred, and beneficial aspects of our walk with Christ.

I mean, you--a sinful human being, saved by the grace of God alone to a beautiful inheritance--can now speak with the living, almighty, amazing, powerful God. Take advantage of such a privilege. Take advantage of such a gift.

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