A Life of Prayer

This year on Mother's Day, my pastor Dr. Rick Gregory spoke on motherhood. He had some very good points, and though I am not a mother it was things that could still apply to me now, and things that would be great to remember when I am a mom. One of the things he talked about was prayer. While I am unmarried and childless, I need to cultivate a life of prayer. My pastor was saying that though every believer needs to have this, it is especially important for mothers to have a heart that loves to pray. Even now, I need to be praying that my future children will be God-loving and God-fearing. I need to pray that they see their sin and feel a desperate need for Him in their lives. I need to pray that I will raise them well together with my husband. Of course, that is just one of the things that I need to pray for consistently, but that was mostly what he talked about since it was Mother's Day.

I really hope that as I grow older and mature and become more and more like Christ, I become a woman of prayer. Paul said to pray without ceasing. This means that we need to continually be in the mindset of prayer. I have days that I am continually seeking the Lord's face and asking Him to show me His will. Those days are the ones that I don't look back on and think of as wasted. Every morning when I wake up I need to remind myself of the gospel and ask God to never stop showing my need for His grace and mercy. My first thoughts should be praising Him for who He is and for the love that He shows. My mind should constantly be engaged, thinking about who needs prayer-for health, encouragement, salvation, etc.

The second semester of my senior year of high school, our school's superintendent Dean Hallberg became the teacher for my Bible class. He said that if it weren't for the prayers of faithful women, many churches today would not be in existence. Of course, he did not tell us this to say that women pray better or to discredit men in any way. He was just saying that very often it's the women who spend so much focused time on their knees. It was cool to hear a man who had been a pastor before acknowledge the church's need for women who are faithful pray-ers. What an awesome encouragement! As a woman who wants her life to be Christ-centered, it is good to see a specific thing I can do that will help God be more glorified in my life.