Scripture to Read: Colossians 4:2
God loves it when we set intentional time aside to fellowship with Him. We must make time for this with our Lord to grow in our intimacy with Him. We must lay before His throne of grace our thanks and praise of Him, the people we are praying for, the situations/plans/schedule for our lives for that day, and to pray Scripture. God had Paul write in Colossians 4:2, “Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving.” To devote ourselves means we are persistent, fully committed, and faithful to follow through. God tells us that we must choose this kind of devotion when it comes to prayer. In other words, our prayer life should be a non-negotiable! God had Paul write it this way in Ephesians 6:18, “With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints.” God had Paul mention prayer four times in this one verse. As we pray, we are to pray in the Spirit (see Romans 8:26–27) because with Him (the Holy Spirit in us), we know our prayers are heard and made right before the Father. We are called to pray for all the saints, so we need to be intentional in our prayers for one another. Some great Scriptures to pray daily for ourselves and for all the saints are Ephesians 1:16–22, Ephesians 4:17–32, Ephesians 6:10–20, Philippians 1:9–14, and Colossians 1:9–14. This is a great place to start.
Challenge & Application
Why is being devoted to prayer so important for Christians?
How is your prayer life, and how are you growing in your intimacy with our Lord through it?
Don’t forget to pray using the A.C.T.S. (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication) method!