Day 5…I Thessalonians 5:17-18

"Pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

Notes from the devotional:

• The most important protection we can offer our wives and children is in our prayers.
• Divorce rates….sadly are not much better for people who say they’re evangelical Christians…BUT…
• For couples who pray together every night, the divorce rate is an incredible 1 in 1,052! That is about 0.00095%, or about ONE TENTH OF ONE PERCENT divorce rate!
• God may still allow us to encounter times of severe testing, but he remains faithful to us and our families when we are committed to prayer.

My notes:

• Prayer – probably the weakest part of my spiritual life.
• It is the easiest thing to do… prayer is nothing more than a conversation with God… you don’t need all the Thou’s and Thee’s and Thou Art’s and so forth… He just wants me to TALK with him..
• In the car, in the shower, eating my lunch in my office, anytime… but I fill every waking moment with the radio, the TV, Facebook, football, Xbox Live, and so on… waiting til bedtime to start my prayer time? I’m asleep in five minutes. That is nothing more than a slap in the face of God… “Her, God, have the table scraps of my day…” What about the first fruits? What about my best?
• Conversational prayer is important, but easier for me. For that devoted, focused time of prayer I am going to have to plan my day better. Get work done earlier and get to bed earlier. Only then can I realistically get up early enough to give God the first part of my day.
• I’ve never really thought about prayer forming a hedge of protection around my family simply by doing it. I need to start thinking about it more.
• The one thing I am getting a better idea of is giving prayers of thanks despite what is going on in my life. Despite the time and financial stressors of my practice, the stress it places on my marriage and my family, I try to be thankful for having a job… having a BUSY job… having a job that is somewhat recession safe… having a roof over our heads… a family who loves me… children who do a pretty good job of being understanding about it…
• If I don’t talk to God, I am not going to recognize His voice when he is talking to me. And I am going miss a lot. 

Personal challenge:

• What family needs can you consistently pray for?
• Ask God to help you faithfully pray for your family.

~~from Men of Integrity: A Daily Guide to the Bible and Prayer (1999)~~