LETTER FOR JUNE 1991
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Dear Friends,

"Devote yourselves to prayer being watchful and thankful". These are the words of the Apostle Paul in Colossians 4 verse 2.

All of us are praying Christians. It is a sign of life within us that we pray, but do we devote ourselves to prayer. Often we are told to think before we speak or act. In the Christian realm the saying could be pray before we speak or act.

"Devote yourselves" means to make prayer the practice of our lives. To make a practice of prayer and communion with God. To give much time to prayer. To give prayer first place in our lives.

Prayer is spending time in the presence of God and communing with the Lord. Prayer is a two-way activity. We talk to God but we must give time and place in prayer to listen to God speaking to us. We expect God to listen to us. We must be prepared to listen to what God says to us. Meditation on God's Word is an very essential part of devoting ourselves to prayer. The value of prayer is letting the will and mind of God to fill us and change us into the same pattern.

We must never enter into prayer seeking to get our desires, but in submissive obedience to the Lord be ready to follow him even if this is contrary to our desires. We must be humble and meek in God's presence.

Devoting ourselves to prayer means that, as we live in God's presence in this way, we will find ourselves changed into the image of God. We find it difficult to change ourselves. Firstly, it is difficult to see our faults. Secondly, it is difficult, even impossible, to overcome our faults ourselves. Thirdly, we find it difficult to think rightly. As we dwell much in God's presence, we find we are changed as the Spirit of God molds us. The atmosphere of heaven has its good influence over us.

Devoting ourselves to prayer means we will be watchful as the Apostle exhorts us to be. Being much in prayer we are made more alert to the Devil's devices. "Our adversary the Devil goes about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour", so says the Apostle Peter in 1 Peter 5:8. The Devil is constantly probing our weaknesses, our pride and our self-centredness. He is always seeking to pervert our thinking and deceiving us, making us often to see good as bad and bad as good. It is as we devote ourselves to prayer, spending much time in God's presence, that we are delivered from the devil's power. Our thinking is reformed. We are able to see with a heavenly perspective. The Spirit subdues our corrupt affections. We are able to discern the Devil's subtlety and are given grace to resist it.

Devoting ourselves to prayer will increase our thankfulness as the Apostle also exhorts us. In ourselves we have a tendency to see our difficulties, hurts and what we have not got. In ourselves we tend to see only what we feel is lacking, or what we feel is not as it should be. We forget or fail to see all the wonders that God has done for us, and the manifold blessings we already enjoy. Devoting ourselves to prayer will lead us to see the blessings we have got, both personally and in our church fellowship, and be thankful. In being thankful and giving thanks we will find this is an antidote to bitterness and complaint for what we have not got.

Devoting ourselves to prayer will mean that we will be losing anxiety as we are able to rest upon the the Lord. Being thankful shows us how much the Lord has already done, without all our worry and pressurising. Devoting ourselves to prayer will help us to leave the future to the Lord as well. It will also mean that our thinking will change as God reforms us to see his way and will.

Devoting ourselves to prayer means also getting together in prayer specially for God's work; praying much for the church that we may be kept safe by God. Paul also mentions the need to pray for all who are in the business of proclaiming the Word of God, that they may be given grace to proclaim it as they should.

Prayer is the breath of life for the Church and God's people. We must live in God's presence and commune constantly with him. Pray for me that I may devote myself to prayer. Pray for our Church that we may all devote ourselves to prayer.

Your servant for Christ's sake,