Let Us Pray

“For this cause we also, since the day we heard it do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; Strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness; Giving thanks unto the Father…”  Colossian 1:9-12a

Most of us, even those who do not attend church or claim any relationship with the Lord, turn to prayer when troubles and hardships come upon us, especially in this day of a quickly spreading disease that as of yet has no real cure or successful preventative other than staying away from other people.  The methods that have been ordered by government entities to flatten the curve, as they say, has really taken a toll on the economic conditions and on the psyche of most Americans.  The most worrisome part is not knowing when things will get back to some form of normal.

Those of us who are believers in Christ have likely heard the truth about prayer, that is, prayer is more about changing our minds rather than God’s mind.  Of course we all want this coronavirus situation to end and end quickly, but no one can accurately pinpoint when that will be.  It might not be too much longer before we see the light at the end of the tunnel, but this may last for some time.  Some have warned that it may come back like the seasonal flu that comes every winter.  So, faced with these speculations, how should we be praying?

The above verses give us a solid pattern of prayer, not a “get me out of this” type of prayer, but one that can help us through this time and continuing on into the future.  I pray these verses over my family and myself everyday.  God said that His word would not return unto Him void, but His word shall accomplish what it was intended to do and will be prosperous wherever it goes (Isaiah 55:11).  This is a promise to which I cling.  The desire of my heart is that 1.) my family, my friends, and myself will come to know God’s will for our lives through the promptings of the Holy Spirit; 2.) that God will give us the wisdom and spiritual understanding to apply that knowledge in service and worship; 3.) that we might live in such a way that honors the Lord and allow our good works to reflect the love that we have for God and for others; and 4.) that we would come to know the Lord more deeply and intimately through Bible study and prayer.  Now that folks have more time on their hands, it would be of tremendous value to spend some of that time in Bible study and on one’s knees in prayer.

These verses also teach us: 5.) to lean on the strength of the Lord and not on our own strength; 6.) that we would develop patience and endurance through trials, but not let trials steal our joy ( I think that this time of COVID-19 is going to teach us some patience, because that’s how we learn to be patient by going through trials); and 7.) that our hearts would be grateful, and we would give thanks to God, the Father, for His love and mercy.  If everything always went “our way”, then we would never learn anything.  We would be spoiled and take everything for granted, rather than becoming people of strength, integrity, and compassion.  This time of trouble has been exceptionally hard on everyone, but if we don’t learn from it, we are bound to face more trouble in the future.  Someone said that God gives us tests, and when we don’t pass them, He keeps giving them to us until we do.  Let’s hope that we don’t have to retake this one.