By Rick James
This morning I was re-reading the book Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster. I’ve been putting it off for some months as I have a personal preference for the celebration of comfort. I was really struck by what he said about prayer:
‘To pray is to change. Prayer is the central avenue God uses to transform us. If we are unwilling to change, we will abandon prayer…’
‘Prayer changes things. We are co-labourers with Christ and therefore our prayers can change things. We are working with God to determine the future.
John Wesley wrote:
‘God does nothing but in answer to prayer.’
‘Listening is the first thing, the second thing and the third thing necessary in prayer. We need to discover God’s heart for people and situations.’
Martin Luther once said: “I have so much business I cannot get on without spending three hours daily in prayer”. We may not be Olympic prayer athletes like Martin Luther, but if it really does change people and situations (even ours) we have a huge responsibility. Perhaps we can do more regular jogging…
As you look at the day and the week ahead, take time now to listen to God about and to pray for:
• All the different jobs on your to-do list; and/or
• All the meetings arranged in your schedule; and/or
• All the emails in your in-box awaiting response.
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