Definition of "Post": "a position of duty, employment, or trust to which one is assigned or appointed"
Prayer is an assignment for us Christians. We could say we are "Posted to Pray". After all, the Lord has made us a "royal priesthood" (1 Pet. 2:9) who "continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise" (Heb. 13:15). The Lord taught us to persist in prayer (Luke 18:1-8). Furthermore, we are instructed to "pray continually" (1 Thess. 5:17) and "pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests...be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints" (Ephesians 6:18).
Are you holding down your post? Can you be described as one who "prays continually"? If you are - awesome! I need you to pray for me! If you're not, don't feel bad, instead join me in making prayer your resolution for 2014. Honestly whether we pray 1 minute or 2 hours every day I think we won't ever say we are praying enough. The strange thing I've found is that the more I do it the more I know I need to do it more! I will say this too: nothing will move you faster and farther in your spiritual progress than committing to your own private prayer "post" (yes, I do love how there are 3 "p's" right there).
But, one of the hardest things about prayer is knowing what to pray for (not to mention the excuses for why we don't have time!) Have you ever sat their with a blank mind, twiddling your thumbs? ("But some would say a blank mind is the goal of prayer!" See blog series "Contemplating Contemplative Spirituality"). Anyway, I've been there too - twiddling my thumbs. Yet on the other "thumb", I can easily get overwhelmed with all the things that need prayer. Therefore, I've found that a little organization goes a long way. I would like to share what I've done and maybe this will be helpful for you if you are looking for tips on occupying your prayer post.
You know what they say, "Failure to plan is a plan to fail". So here is my current "plan" for my prayer life that I am committing to for 2014.
I start with a single word, I repeat it over and over again until ... ha ha. Yeah right. No for real this time: my plan is a 7 day schedule, and each day has 5 parts:
1) Praise God for one of His attributes and thank Him for specific blessings,
2) Two personal requests,
3) One immediate family member (wife/kids)
4) Corporate Church requests,
5) Individuals.
One thing I like to do is keep my eyes open for Bible verses that relate to what's on this schedule. (For example, one of my personal requests is for "wisdom", and I know that James 1:5 says, "If any of you lacks wisdom he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault..." Doing this builds my confidence in the Lord when I am asking Him.
My personal schedule looks like this:
Monday
1) God's Holiness (and thank Him for specific blessings)
2) My Protection and Wisdom
3) Annie (wife)
4) EFC's love, Deacons
5) People last names A-D
Tuesday
1) God's Power and thank Him for specific blessings
2) My Love and Patience
3) Evan (child)
4) EFC's Faith, Marriages
5) Individuals last names E-H
Wednesday
1) God's Love and thank Him for specific blessings
2) My Faith and Prayer Life
3) Reese (child)
4) EFC's Waiting for Christ's Return, Preaching & Teaching ministries
5) Individuals last names I-L
Thursday
1) God's Wisdom (and thank Him for specific blessings)
2) Purity & Vigilance (Doctrine, Church Life, relationships, etc.)
3) Annie
4) EFC's Humility, Trustees
5) Individuals last names M-P
Friday
1) God's Mercy & Grace (and specific thanksgivings)
2) Humble and Disciplined
3) Evan
4) EFC's Evangelism, Music, and Greeters
5) Individuals last names Q-T
Saturday
1) God's goodness (and thank Him for specific blessings)
2) Desire to Please God - not Men, Thankfulness
3) Reese
4) EFC spiritual growth and maturity, Youth Group
5) Individuals last names U-Z
Sunday
1) God's Faithfulness (and thank Him for specific blessings)
2) My Evangelism and General Manner of Speech (Control my tongue)
3) Both Annie and Kids
4) EFC - specific church issues and other ministries not covered
5) Selected people with current issues
Pointers:
If I miss a day I double up the next day.
A good idea would be to just improve from where you're at right now. Don't aim for getting all 7 days if you're only praying once a month right now. Start small and build from there. Add a day a week.
Or you can start with only 1 or 2 parts (For example: Immediate Family and Personal Requests ,or whatever).
Right now my time can be anywhere from 5 minutes to 30 or more, depending on my heart.
With this plan, I find I'm covering a lot of area rather than trying to do 2 hour marathons once or twice a week (Gatorade please!)
"Far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD and fail to pray for you" -1 Samuel 12:23
Check out this post on prayer too:
http://efcthetaker.blogspot.com/2012/11/prayer-politician-there-seems-to-be.html
Prayer is an assignment for us Christians. We could say we are "Posted to Pray". After all, the Lord has made us a "royal priesthood" (1 Pet. 2:9) who "continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise" (Heb. 13:15). The Lord taught us to persist in prayer (Luke 18:1-8). Furthermore, we are instructed to "pray continually" (1 Thess. 5:17) and "pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests...be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints" (Ephesians 6:18).
Are you holding down your post? Can you be described as one who "prays continually"? If you are - awesome! I need you to pray for me! If you're not, don't feel bad, instead join me in making prayer your resolution for 2014. Honestly whether we pray 1 minute or 2 hours every day I think we won't ever say we are praying enough. The strange thing I've found is that the more I do it the more I know I need to do it more! I will say this too: nothing will move you faster and farther in your spiritual progress than committing to your own private prayer "post" (yes, I do love how there are 3 "p's" right there).
But, one of the hardest things about prayer is knowing what to pray for (not to mention the excuses for why we don't have time!) Have you ever sat their with a blank mind, twiddling your thumbs? ("But some would say a blank mind is the goal of prayer!" See blog series "Contemplating Contemplative Spirituality"). Anyway, I've been there too - twiddling my thumbs. Yet on the other "thumb", I can easily get overwhelmed with all the things that need prayer. Therefore, I've found that a little organization goes a long way. I would like to share what I've done and maybe this will be helpful for you if you are looking for tips on occupying your prayer post.
You know what they say, "Failure to plan is a plan to fail". So here is my current "plan" for my prayer life that I am committing to for 2014.
I start with a single word, I repeat it over and over again until ... ha ha. Yeah right. No for real this time: my plan is a 7 day schedule, and each day has 5 parts:
1) Praise God for one of His attributes and thank Him for specific blessings,
2) Two personal requests,
3) One immediate family member (wife/kids)
4) Corporate Church requests,
5) Individuals.
One thing I like to do is keep my eyes open for Bible verses that relate to what's on this schedule. (For example, one of my personal requests is for "wisdom", and I know that James 1:5 says, "If any of you lacks wisdom he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault..." Doing this builds my confidence in the Lord when I am asking Him.
My personal schedule looks like this:
Monday
1) God's Holiness (and thank Him for specific blessings)
2) My Protection and Wisdom
3) Annie (wife)
4) EFC's love, Deacons
5) People last names A-D
Tuesday
1) God's Power and thank Him for specific blessings
2) My Love and Patience
3) Evan (child)
4) EFC's Faith, Marriages
5) Individuals last names E-H
Wednesday
1) God's Love and thank Him for specific blessings
2) My Faith and Prayer Life
3) Reese (child)
4) EFC's Waiting for Christ's Return, Preaching & Teaching ministries
5) Individuals last names I-L
Thursday
1) God's Wisdom (and thank Him for specific blessings)
2) Purity & Vigilance (Doctrine, Church Life, relationships, etc.)
3) Annie
4) EFC's Humility, Trustees
5) Individuals last names M-P
Friday
1) God's Mercy & Grace (and specific thanksgivings)
2) Humble and Disciplined
3) Evan
4) EFC's Evangelism, Music, and Greeters
5) Individuals last names Q-T
Saturday
1) God's goodness (and thank Him for specific blessings)
2) Desire to Please God - not Men, Thankfulness
3) Reese
4) EFC spiritual growth and maturity, Youth Group
5) Individuals last names U-Z
Sunday
1) God's Faithfulness (and thank Him for specific blessings)
2) My Evangelism and General Manner of Speech (Control my tongue)
3) Both Annie and Kids
4) EFC - specific church issues and other ministries not covered
5) Selected people with current issues
Pointers:
If I miss a day I double up the next day.
A good idea would be to just improve from where you're at right now. Don't aim for getting all 7 days if you're only praying once a month right now. Start small and build from there. Add a day a week.
Or you can start with only 1 or 2 parts (For example: Immediate Family and Personal Requests ,or whatever).
Right now my time can be anywhere from 5 minutes to 30 or more, depending on my heart.
With this plan, I find I'm covering a lot of area rather than trying to do 2 hour marathons once or twice a week (Gatorade please!)
"Far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD and fail to pray for you" -1 Samuel 12:23
Check out this post on prayer too:
http://efcthetaker.blogspot.com/2012/11/prayer-politician-there-seems-to-be.html
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