I am going to guess that probably not. We pray when we have too, and we pray when we have a certain routine down. When thinks are going poorly, we pray...when things are going well we pray out of thanksgiving...
So we are praying, but is it on all occasions?
I like to pray before my meals, when I wake up in the morning, and before I go to bed at that. That is not even close to all occasions.
A couple years back when I was in high school, I was talking to one of my friends and I remember him saying this: "If God hears/knows all of our thoughts, why not make all of those prayers?" I loved that, but to actually live in that way is borderline impossible. It's so hard. But when you try to live that way you realize how wrong and how poor your thought processes are.
That hits hard with me. I would love to be honoring to God in all of my thoughts, but it's seriously so hard. Satan deceives us into thinking so many things that gets us off track.
When I read this, one of the things that came to mind was Rachel. About a month ago we were driving somewhere in Nashville and the ambulance flew past us off to an emergency. As I pulled over so the ambulance had room, Rachel started praying for whoever the ambulance was off to. It was incredible. Out of nowhere this prayer just shot out of her mouth!
I was so encouraged by her courage. She just started praying for them, she didn't even ask me if we should. She told me that was something she has done since she was a kid and it was so cool to witness.
That moment was the perfect example of praying in all occasions. I mean who really thinks to pray in that situation for people that we don't even know?
Paul writes this: "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 6:18)
You might be wondering how we can pray on all occasions. One way is to make quick, brief prayers your habitual response to every situation you meet throughout the day. Another way is to order your life around God's desires and teachings so that your very life becomes a prayer. You don't have to isolate yourself from other people and from daily work in order to pray constantly. You can make prayer your life and your life a prayer while living in a world that needs God's powerful influences.
I encourage you to pray on all occasions. My your life be a prayer. My your prayers become a habit. There is so much that can be done and your life will be so much better when you start to pray every day over all occasions.
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