The scripture for today, April 12, is Colossians 4:12 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:
“He is always wrestling in prayer for you.”
Do you have fast-food prayers? Drive in, ask for something for yourself, and drive out two minutes later?
How about trying gourmet prayers ~ where you gather many ingredients, not just one? They take longer, but are very special and rewarding.
Your menu is your prayer list. People on your list don’t even have to be people who know personally. They can be from the newspaper, teachers at a local school, government officials, your neighbors, your congregation. List people by name. Pray for them by name.
Then tell these people you are praying for them. You may think you’ll get some strange looks, but mostly, even from the unreligious, you will get a smile and a whispered thank you. Some will actually reply, “No one before has ever told me they were praying for me.” After awhile, you will begin receiving word from some of them, “I am praying for you too.”
Prayer is wonderful. It is most wonderful when it centers, not on yourself, but on struggling in prayer for others.
One by one you will begin seeing amazing answers in the lives of those you pray for. And that’s a promise!