Posted on January 25, 2013 - by Kav
Sweet Hour of Prayer
I have been thinking about prayer ever since my friend, Val returned home for a visit at Christmas. After living with her widowed
mother all her adult life, 40 something Val shocked us all last year when she decided to quit her job and move across the country to live on her own. None of us understood why and many were certain that this whim wouldn’t last and Val would soon be clasped back to our congregational bosom once again.
Only a year passed and Val returned for a visit not for good. And in those twelve months Val had transformed. Where once she had been timid, hesitant and uneasy in large groups she was now solid, unmovable and at peace with herself and others. It was an astounding change and when pressed to answer the question “Why?” that was asked way too many times during her brief two week stay, Val would always answer, “I learned to pray.”
I was immediately convicted by her words. There was no denying the change, the growth the sheer positive difference in this woman.
A few weeks later, I heard an author interviewed on a Christian radio show. She was a passionate cook and had written a recipe book. What a vibrant, enthusiastic person! She stunned me when she confessed to praying over her food preparations at home. And then walking through her house praying for the guests who hadn’t yet arrived – dedicating the evening to the Lord.
Then I thought of my friend, Line who has a prayer fridge. She covers every square inch of its surface with little notes and scraps of paper about people she knows and some she doesn’t. Reminders to pray over them daily. And she does with a fierce, fervent dedication. When Line says, “I’ll put your name on my fridge,” you immediately feel lifted up. Closer to God. Bathed in His glory. Filled with His peace.
So, I’ve been thinking about my own haphazard prayer life. I have always prayed for friends and family — but not with Line’s eye-single-to-the-glory intensity. While I have tried to implement the notion of praying without ceasing, that sweet author showed me how I could bring much more depth to that conviction. And my friend Val, well she has me wondering if I ever really knew how to pray at all!
Wonderful food for thought at the beginning of a new year. It reminds me of that beautiful hymn, Sweet Hour of Prayer, which begins:
Sweet hour of prayer, sweet hour of prayer,
That calls me from a world of care.
I think I’ve been spending way too much time in that world of care when peace has been only a prayer away!
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January 25, 2013
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Brenda Anderson said:
I so admire those who have that kind of prayer life. It’s certainly a goal of mine, but I’m a loooong ways off.
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January 25, 2013
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Dawn Ford said:
Kav,
It’s so easy to reduce prayer to the places between. Between home and work. Between shutting your eyes and sleep. Between the moment of despair in your hour of need and just before the bleakness steals all the faith and peace in your heart. I don’t know a person who hasn’t said they could pray more. It’s a great reminder for us how prayer itself can change us so powerfully.
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January 25, 2013
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Lorna Seilstad said:
Thank you for sharing your friends story, Kav, and those other examples. My prayer life has taken a turn this year, too. I’m really learning the pray without ceasing part.
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January 25, 2013
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Kav said:
Brenda, I’m a looong way off too, but what I’m learning is that it’s really easy to do…once you think about it. I’m aiming to get into the habit of praying over everything all through each and every day!
Dawn, beautifully said and so true that a simple thing like prayer can make so many life-altering changes — both to you and to the people you pray for.
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January 25, 2013
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Kav said:
Lorna, I was sooo proud of myself last year when I started praising God for even the little things that go right in my life. “Thank you Lord for sending the bus before I got too cold.” That kind of thing — so that I could remind myself of who is really in charge. But then, between mid December and mid January, I realized there’s so much more to it. I was on the right track, but now I feel like Like you, praying without ceasing is my aim.
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January 25, 2013
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Marianne said:
What an inspiring challenge. And i LOVE that song, Kav…one of my favorites, and one i use often in my devotions.
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January 25, 2013
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Shari Barr said:
Beautifully said, Kav. I say “ditto” to Marianne. What an inspiring challenge-one I need to strive for. Thanks for sharing.
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January 26, 2013
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Rose Ross Zediker said:
KAV,
One of my favorite Bible verses is praying without ceasing.
I can’t say that I pray without ceasing but I’ve learn to continue to pray in ‘good’ times as well as bad.