First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. God, whom I serve with my whole heart in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you in my prayers at all times;.. Romans 1:8-10a NIV
With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith. We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. II Thessalonians 1:11-12 NIV
The narrative in I Kings 18-19 is amazing to read. I encourage you to read it this week. Elijah had a true literal, mountain top experience, praying to God, hearing from God, and asking incredible things of God – things God made to happen!
However, I Kings 19 portrays events which occurred on the same day as Elijah’s actual mountain top experience and throughout the 40 or so days following, modeling an incredible story that demonstrates for us that “praying to God once and listening once”, is not what having a living breathing relationship with God is about.
I Thessalonians 5:17 instructs us to “pray continually.” Elijah, a prophet, a man of God who heard from God in incredible ways as well as in ordinary everyday kinds of ways, even so, became scared; he ran for his life, and had difficulty hearing from God because of it. Are we any different?
Not everyone is a prophet, a pastor, a ministry leader, a teacher, a parent, but we all have challenges every day, both large and small, both earth-shattering or just annoying. We are called to be in prayer – ALWAYS.
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 saints. Ephesians 6:18 NIV
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Philippians 4:6 NIV
Someone once told me there are no grandchildren in God’s kingdom. This is true; we each have both the privilege and the responsibility to accept God’s love and salvation that is offered to each of us individually. In the same way, when we experience God’s incredible love and an unbelievable answer to prayer, we shouldn’t look back on that experience and hold it up as “our mountain top experience” and rest on it – thinking we don’t need to pray any more. Instead, God calls us to be in prayer AT ALL TIMES IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES. This calls for a lifestyle, a mindset, and the habit of daily prayer in every challenge we face, with every question we need answered, in every joy, and in every sorrow.
Lately, have you thought of prayer as a conversation with God? Many of the Psalms are conversations with God that have been recorded for us. Take your favorite and use it to pray. Have a conversation with God; share your concerns, your happiness, your wishes and desires, your hopes and fears. Be sure to listen to what He has to say to you about each of those things you share with Him. God loves us and desires daily conversation with each of us.
