“Do not be anxious about anything. Instead, in every situation, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, tell your requests to God.” (Philippians 4:6)
One of the people who the most influenced me in the need for prayer was my father Denis. As long as I can remember he lived a life of prayer. My parents were Roman Catholic. And I have very early memories of as a child of kneeling by my bed at night as my parents prayed over me and we said the Rosary together. Later in life in my teens and early 20’s I got involved in drugs and lived a the life of sex, drugs and Rock N Roll. My father prayed over me daily to be delivered and return to Christ. I would joke with him that because of my life style then and his praying over me on his knees, my dad and Jesus became closer known to each other.
As an adult and until my father passed on 9 months ago, he continued to have a remarkable life of prayer. Every morning he would begin his day with at least 2 hours of prayer. He had his prayer devotions and he would read and reply to mine almost daily. My father had to go through many back surgeries, he had arthritis in his hands, and there was not a day in the last10-15 years of his life he was not in some sort of constant pain. I know it was his prayer life that got him through every day with a smile on his face. When we talked on the phone, at the end of our conversation my father would always say, “I am praying for you son”. And I knew without a doubt he was.
Prayer is the life breath of our relationship with God. Just as physically, we breath or we die, spiritually, we pray or our relationship with God dies. My dad understood this, and it was his example of the necessity for prayer that aided in me now entering my 11th year of spending almost every weekday morning with my Bible open in prayer writing a morning devotion.
Who was an influence to your life of prayer? Who are you an influence to of the absolute necessity of prayer with your prayer life? The influence of my dad on the importance of prayer was one of the greatest gifts given to me by my father. With whom are you giving this gift? What is the state of your personal prayer life? Is your prayer closet collecting dust? You spouse, children, family, neighbors, desperately need you prayers. And more importantly, so does your relationship with God.
My family, as I sit and finish this devotion, I am praying over you who will be reading this. My prayer is that you will be influenced, reminded and reaffirmed of the necessity daily prayer in your life, and spend time this morning simply talking to God, in Jesus’ name. Please pray the same for me, as I truly desire that you do. God bless you my friends!
Please share your reflections and prayers in the comment box below.
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