Praying as an act of Worship

I urge you …to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority…This is good and pleases God our Savior 1Tim2:1-3 [NLT]

God admonishes us to dedicate time to praying for other people’s needs besides our own. From the scripture above it is clear that God considers this an act of worship and it pleases Him. A lot of people do not know that when you devote time to praying for other people, you are actually praying for yourself. ‘So that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity’. The key to doing this habitually is to turn your complaints into heartfelt prayer. For example, you hear something on the news about corruption, immediately ask God to teach the Government to honor their vows of leadership. Pray for the armed robbers to find Christ and discover their true purpose. When you see an accident on the road, don’t just thank God it was not you. Pray for streetlights to be installed on highways for better visibility. God instructs us to pray about everything and anything. Pray for your Pastors. Thank God for making them shepherds. Thank God for where He has taken them from, where He has brought them to, and for where He is taking them to. Thank God for seeing them through difficult times, for having mercy, and for His kindness, goodness, and compassion toward them. Pray that even as their ministry has touched your life, that others will also be affected by them too. Ask God to give your leaders complete knowledge of His will, spiritual wisdom and understanding. The reward for all this? ‘Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better’ [Col.1:10].

Thought: Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live. 1Thes.5:16-18