“Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.” Colossians 4:2
Martyn Lloyd-Jones once said, “Always respond to every impulse to pray.” His words have stuck with me. I have impulses all the time. And I don’t know about you, but my first impulse isn’t always to pray. I have the impulse to sleep in another ten minutes, eat three more cinnamon rolls, sleep in another ten minutes, buy that pair of socks I don’t really need, or sleep in another ten minutes. Honestly, the impulse or desire to pray doesn’t always make the top of my list.
Not all impulses are bad, however. Some can be beneficial, others a bit unwise, and then there are those that can be quite dangerous. We all know (very well) about our own temptations and impulses to sin.
But, the one impulse I desire to have more and more, is the impulse to simply pray. The Apostle Paul encourages this very thing in Colossians when he writes, “Continue steadfastly in prayer.” What he means is for the Christian not to let go of prayer but to be courageously persistent in it. Let your intimacy with God only grow stronger as you continue to approach Him in prayer. Never give up on it!
Why? Because that impulse, that desire to pray, will always be for our good.
Christian, are you acting on every impulse to pray? In the good times and the bad? When the car breaks down, will you pray? When grandma gets sick, do you pray? When you get that raise at work, will you pray? When your child comes to a saving faith in Jesus Christ, do you pray? When you are tempted to sin, do you pray? When you don’t desire God, will you pray?
Friends, my hope and prayer is that in both the good times and bad, we would be a church that always acts on the impulse to pray!
Praying,
Bryan
Posted in A Word from the Pastor