Did I Forget to Pray?
It has been almost a year since I wrote the post An Attitude of Kneeling about how I had begun literally kneeling to pray each morning. It has been a wonderful habit that has gotten me through many a difficult day. Prayer is such a powerful antidote to the human tendency to give in to worry, doubt, fear, and heartache. The devil tries to keep us down with these negative feelings and thoughts. I think God knew this year was going to be a challenging one for me in many ways when He spoke to me about the importance of kneeling to pray.
Paul, in his letter to the church in Ephesus, encourages the believers on how they can resist the schemes of the devil to paralyze them with fear and doubt, closing with the instruction to pray.
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. . . . 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 Lord’s people. Ephesians 6:10-11, 18.
But this weekend, for some reason, I skipped my morning prayer time all three days. I never even thought about it. Saturday was a day spent with my family, doing laundry, grocery shopping, and playing video games. Sunday there wasn’t time before church because we had to be there early so my son could be ready to run the slide show. Monday was a day off from work and I was busy writing on this blog and reading other blogs, doing more laundry, and thinking about what to make for dinner while my husband was off playing frisbee golf. I was listening to my iPod and the day was going fine.
Before I knew it, a dark cloud of worry, doubt, fear, and heartache came over me on Monday afternoon. There was a sadness in my heart that is difficult to describe. But still I did not pray.
This morning, back to my routine of getting ready for work, I kneeled to pray. It was then that I realized I had skipped my prayer time all weekend. By doing so, I had failed to “be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.” I had not put each day in God’s hands and asked for His wisdom and guidance. Had I done so, I would have been prepared for the doubt and worry that came to my mind mid-afternoon. I would have been prepared to take my stand against the devil’s schemes.
Many people dismiss the power of prayer, but in reality it is not the prayer itself that is powerful. It is God, on whom we call and in whom we trust when we pray, who is powerful. Prayer reminds us of the wisdom and strength of the Holy Spirit within us and puts Him in charge of our thoughts. Time spent talking with God, sharing our concerns and stopping to listen to His counsel, is essential in a world filled with difficulties and challenges. Often when I kneel to pray I hear Him say, “Be still, and know that I am God!” Psalm 46:10. When I reflect on that thought, just knowing that He is God and that He loves me, because God is love (1 John 4:8), I am strengthened for the day and am reminded of the blessings He has given me.
Throughout the Gospels, we see examples of Jesus praying. If Jesus, who was Himself God incarnate, believed it was important for Him to be in communication with the Father through prayer, why should I be any different? If I am struggling through a day, just an ordinary day like any other, besieged by doubts and fear, the first thing I must ask myself is, “Did I forget to pray?” Most likely the answer will be “Yes.” Because if I remember to pray, if I remember to kneel before God and seek His wisdom and strength, I will be able to stand against the devil’s schemes.
The next time you are struggling through an ordinary day or a particularly difficult one, remember God is there to help you through. All you need to do is remember to pray.
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I just came from Theresa’s place and felt so happy for God’s perfect timing and perfect message but He’s not done yet — here I’m blessed again with a perfect reminder! Yes I need prayers; I need to pray and be strong for the enemy named worries, fears, doubts, bad memories and pains surround me and ready to attack any time I let my guard down. Got to pray, pray and pray some more to show the enemy how strong God is and how He loves me.
Thank you Linda for bringing in this post perfectly 🙂
Rea, I am always amazed how God uses my struggles and my pain to help encourage others. I often doubt when writing posts like this, but they seem to be the ones that get the most positive comments like yours. Our God is an awesome God! He knew just what I needed to write that you needed to read. 🙂 The wonder of it all brings tears of joy to my eyes. Peace and prayers, Linda
This is so true….and it is a struggle, but I am so thankful that He is forever drawing us, reminding us to pray.
Theresa
Theresa, I am so thankful that He is patient with me when I forget. He gently reminds me of what a blessing it is to spend time with Him in prayer. The last two days have been much better as I have returned to my morning routine. Peace, Linda
I truly am happy for you, because I really do struggle with that, too. This will probably sound silly, but I like to pray kneeling in my bedroom, but I get messy and then my room gets all messed up, and it becomes even more challenging as I try to find other places where I can really quiet my mind down…I have a very noisy mind.
Theresa
Hi Linda,
I just came from visiting Theresa http://pronetoponder.wordpress.com/?p=1855 Interesting 🙂
I confess I don’t always kneel to pray. There are days I’m praying as I’m flying through the door or getting stuff done or just before my head hits the pillow. I know I need to carve out a time for praying so I have ‘popcorn prayers’ during the day but I like the idea of kneeling before Him… I used to do that before life happened. Thanks for reminding me to go back there… If I’m on my knees I can’t do anything else, can I?
Blessings
ann
P.S. The blog I wrote for yesterday was on prayer. I think God wanted me to offer the Sacrifice of Thanksgiving instead. And now He gives me two prayer posts to meditate on! How great is our God!?
Ann, Until last year, I never kneeled to pray except in church. It has been such a wonderful habit that He has developed in me and I defintely can tell the difference when I don’t spend time with Him. You are right, if we are on our knees we can’t do anything else! Peace, Linda
Good post! I have found lately that, although I talk to God throughout the day, and my thoughts are on Him often, I have neglected that specific time of kneeling before Him in prayer. It really does make a difference. I need to get back to my prayer closet. Thanks for posting!
Karla, I think about Him throughout the day, and on Monday I was even listening to Christian music and blogging about Him and reading other Christian blogs filled with scripture. And yet, without that focused time just to be with Him in preparation for the day, the day got the best of me. I really does make a difference, indeed! Peace, Linda
Sometimes those days happen when the routine is blown apart . . .and the time I usually pray evaporates. I almost feel a panic. I didn’t pray . . .oh no! If I can do nothing else, I try to read a verse or two at least. Then He reminds me that He is with us always and we can pray throughout the day too, even though it will be different than that before the day begins time. God bless you and your desire to kneel before Him always.
Deb, Glad to know I’m not alone in sometimes forgetting to pray, in letting my routine fall apart on certain days. Prayer time is one part of the routine that I really need, especially during the winter when darkness and pain can so easily get the best of me. Peace, Linda
Hi Linda,
I was just heading out the door when your post flashed on my phone and I had the urge to read it. Praise God for how He mercifully and patiently teaches us the reality of being faithful. We are like dog’s tails in many ways for we curl back into our old ways so easily but God is amazingly good at teaching us with love and gentleness. Thank you for being so open about your failures and showing us how God ministered to your heart in it. I recently started kneeling and praying and what a joy it is for me too. I always look at the mental picture of Jesus kneeling and praying and that reminds me of how He humbled Himself before His father and so must we, both our knees but more importantly our hearts. Praying that you will continue to inspire us for God’s glory alone!
In Christ,
Vineet
Vineet, I love the idea of creating a mental picture of Jesus kneeling! So true that if it was important for Him to humble Himself, how much more important is it for us? Thank you for your prayers. Peace, Linda