Pray!

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” Matt.11:28 [NIV]

Regardless of where you are in your life you need to get up and pray. Like I said, I am the first to admit that I do not fully know how prayer works but I know it works. But then again I really do not need to understand how prayer works I just need to know that if I pray it will work! My grandmother would say, “If something is good, it needs prayers! If something is not good, it also needs prayers!” So if you think you have a good life, then it needs prayers. Why? Pray so that you will not have to pray. Fast so that you will not have to fast. There comes a time in every man’s life where you need help from above. So how did Hannah get help from above? She got up and she prayed! You need to get up and pray.

There are a couple of things we must pay attention to in the prayer of Hannah. The first thing we realize about the prayer of Hannah is Hannah’s fervency. “Once after a sacrificial meal at Shiloh, Hannah got up and went to pray. Eli the priest was sitting at his customary place beside the entrance of the Tabernacle. Hannah was in deep anguish, crying bitterly as she prayed to the Lord” 1 Sam.1:9-10 [emphasis added]. Your passion shows up your prayer. How passionate you are about something shows up in your prayer. Some people will say, ‘God sees my heart so I do not need to shout when I pray’. I am not saying you should shout but I am saying be passionate. Again it is difficult to be passionate and not shout in prayer but please be passionate. God hears everybody.

The story is told of two men who went to church. One was very rich and the other did not have a lot of money. When it was time to pray the one that did not have a lot of money was praying very loudly, “Father, I need to pay school fees, give me one hundred thousand naira or I die”. The rich man was unable to concentrate and pray because of the other man. So in order to shut him up, he gave him one hundred thousand naira and told the man to go away. My question is who got his prayer answered first? But seriously, we have to put our passion on display not for anybody but for our God. Parents, think about it. You have two children, one is says mom, carry me but the other child is screaming as if she is going to die, without thinking, you will carry the screaming child first. And it does not mean you love him or her more. I know God is bigger than that but sometimes it boils down to how passionate you are.

Prayer: Father, I come to You and in You I find strength and rest for my soul, in Jesus Name.