Written by Pastor Jack Wellman– E.M. Bounds
The Future
One reason we need to be in a constant state of prayer is we don’t know what’s around the blind corner of time. There are some road hazards out there that God knows about but we don’t so we need to be in constant communication with our Father in heaven so that we might already have an ongoing, daily relationship with Him. That relationship includes time spent in His Word.
The Present
What I mean by saying we need to consider the present is that when we begin our day, we want to be connected to God first. That means being in the Bible, but it also means praying in the moment. You can snatch a moment of prayer when you’re waiting in life, waiting for an appointment, or while you on lunch break. I think this is what the Apostle Paul’s intent was when he wrote that we should “pray without ceasing” (1st Thess 5:17).
The Persistence
One of the reasons we might forget about why we’re supposed to pray is that Jesus taught His disciples by giving “them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart” (Luke 18:1), and of course, this is the Parable of the Persistent Widow who by her continually coming to an unrighteous judge finally relented and heard her case. That should be the first thing we do in the morning and the last thing we do at night. If you’re currently in a crisis, like a financial hardship, ill health, or a relationship issue, that should make you be even more constant in prayer.
the Problems
I believe God can use our problems to humble us and try to tell us something. He may allow trials to get our attention, but that is another reason to be in prayer. Ask God to reveal some of things in your life that are not pleasing to Him. Believe me, He will do that. Then, commit to use these problem areas of your (and my) life to live a life that is more pleasing to God. I didn’t say perfect or to be sinless (which is impossible), but we should be sinning less over time. Problems can sometimes identify sins and cause us to repent of them.
Conclusion
Think about why you need to pray as much as you can and as often as you can. You don’t know the future but God does; He is also aware of the present circumstances, so pray about that too; He tells us to pray “without ceasing” because we need His help without ceasing; and use the problems of life to make you pray more about life. He is working in you and that is often painful. And there is yet another reason that you need to be constant in prayer.
