Pray on all occasions

Maybe prayer isn't our immediate response to every situation? We're not the only ones. Anything from self-consciousness to simply forgetting can mean we miss out praying when it's the smartest thing to do.

James has a few things to say about praying; check out James 5:13-18. His first thought is to pray when things are rough (James 5:13). That one a lot of us do. In fact, it can be easy to do most of our praying only when things go wrong. It's understandable, but 'panic-prayers' shouldn't be the extent of our talking-to-God time. James knows that and immediately counterbalances it with an instruction to sing praises to God when we're happy (James 5:13). This shows a fundamental truth about prayer: it's okay to go with what we feel. We can't put on a front with God. Struggling? Tell God and ask him to help you. Happy? Tell God and ask him to be in that too. James then, helpfully, goes on to tell us to find people to pray for us when we're feeling poorly (James 5:14), and to pray for each other in accountability chats (James 5:16). Let's pray for others and get them to pray for us.

Learning to pray can take time, but getting into the habit of touching base with God, whether feeling good or bad, will make our day look different.



So what now? Habits are formed by repeating choices, so set up reminders every day for the next week to pray at specific times. Try to include prayer with others in that, too.





— SCRIPTURE —

'If you are having trouble, you should pray.' James 5:13 CEV
— SOULFOOD —

2 Sam 12:1-14:20, Matt 25:14-30, Ps 137, Pro 17:22-23