Pray Pray Pray

I read: 1 Timothy (With a focus on the first paragraph of chapter 2)

"The first thing I want you to do is pray."

The visiting pastor in church this week made the point that every morning we wake up and aren't dead, that's a gift. And when we can swing out feet out of bed and put them on the ground 'cause our legs are still working, that's a gift. And it goes on throughout the day; every one of those actions is a gift and what do we do when we receive a gift? Thank the giver. That right there is reason enough to pray ceaselessly. Not that I do that, but at least starting out the day in prayer is a good start :)

"Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know."

Not too long ago I heard a guy on the radio talking about praying for others. He pointed out a few things, most notably this: The Book of Job is a story of a guy who has it bad, real bad. But here's the amazing thing, as this guy said, things turn around for him. When do they turn around? In chapter 42 (I think) he begins to pray for his friends. All of a sudden, he takes the focus off of himself and that's when things become good. Connection? Definitely. I can't help but feel if we spend more time interceding in prayer for our friends and simply thanking God for what we have, while sharing our concerns and worries with our friends who will pray for us, we'd be a lot better off.

"Pray especially for rulers and their governments to rule well so we can be quietly about our business of living simply, in humble contemplation."

I always find it funny to read this passage and not see what you expect to see when praying for our government. It's essentially, "Pray especially for our rulers and their governments so they can at least do the bare minimum as to not interfere with our lives." And that I'm all for :)

"This is the way our Savior God wants us to live."

'Nuff said.