DEVOTED TO PRAYER

“Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart.”  – Colossians 4:2.

As the Apostle Paul was finishing his letter to the church at Colossae, he penned a sincere and urgent directive to the church: “Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart.”

It is important to notice this verse tells us to “devote yourselves.” It doesn’t say God will do this for you. There are an endless number of things we can devote ourselves in life: careers, family, relationships, hobbies, etc. When we dedicate ourselves to something, we typically remain committed through thick and thin. We don’t give up at the first sign of difficulty.  In the same way, God wants you to use your automatic drive to stick to a task, see it through, and apply it to your prayer life.

Look at Luke 11:1: “One day he was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said, “Master, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples.” Apparently, Jesus had just finished praying in the presence of His disciples. Eager to be like Jesus, they asked that He teach them to pray. Notice two things: they wanted to communicate with God through prayer, and they knew they needed guidance.  The disciples were with Jesus day in and day out. Of all the things they could have asked Him to teach them — how to heal, teach or perform extraordinary miracles — they asked how to pray.

Jesus gave the disciples (and us) the Lord’s Prayer to teach them. When praying, the posture of our hearts toward the Lord is more important than our actual words. Life is complicated, but our prayer lives need not be.

Prayer is personal. Prayer is a privilege. It’s not a burden or something on a spiritual checklist. Let go of your expectations about what prayer looks like. You don’t need fancy “thees” and “thous” or other special “church” words. You don’t have to use a formal prayer posture or say specific words. Open your heart to God and share what’s most heavy on it.  Share your concerns, burdens, joys, questions, failures, and the decisions you must make. Prayer is simply spending time with the Lord, bringing our praise and burdens to Him.

The more you pray, the more your prayer language will grow, but as you get started, the most important thing is simply engaging God in conversation.

Prayer is our side of the personal conversation with God. It is an incredible privilege to speak with our divine Creator, knowing He listens and responds wisely. Prayer gives us 24/7 access to our heavenly Father, made possible only by the sacrifice of His Son on the cross for our sins.

Discussion Questions:

1. Is prayer a challenging discipline for you? Why or why not?
2. Why do you think people struggle with prayer today? What obstacles keep us from taking everything to God?