Leading in Prayer

Once again, we did not go door to door this week. But unlike weeks in the past, there was a group that went out and led the way for future visits. After checking out where we have been in Wendell and what was left to do, we ended up over at the apartment complex across from the post office. Upon arriving, we discovered that none of us had brought pocket Bibles, gospel tracts, or any tangible information to give to people. While this in and of itself would not typically slow our efforts of evangelism, we decided it would be a great opportunity to pray as a group, walking around the area that we will be witnessing to. We prayed that the Holy Spirit would go before us, and that He would prepare the hearts of those whom the Father would have us to share the Gospel with. We also prayed for the community, and lastly for ourselves, and praised God for many things, including His grace and for using us as vessels for His service.
Tonight was an amazing night, just walking around town, praying with my brothers. Christ speaks many times about our need to pray, and even gives us the model prayer for those that are not sure how exactly one ought to pray (Matthew 6:5-15). In Matthew 6, he tells us to seek the Kingdom of God and that all of the things we worry about (clothes, housing, food, and other things that and economic class would call "needs/priorities") will be added to us. Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians to pray without ceasing. And that is where my challenge for the week come from.
I personally do not pray without ceasing, and I personally can see areas of my life with added anxiety and less spiritual growth than there ought to be as a result of my lack of prayer. In class and in groups and with brothers in need, I am quick to volunteer to pray. But often times at home, alone, with a million things and gadgets to distract me, my prayer life gets suffocated and pushed into a small block of time (possibly even now as I post this.) My challenge is for us as a body to pray more this week than ever before. Consider the time that you take in watching tv (NCIS, CSI, Mythbusters, Dancing with the Stars, American Idol (properly named), Leno, Fallon, Letterman, Office, 30 Rock, ESPN), studying, relaxing, reading, working, and the list goes on. Now take that time and pray that amount. Take one day and pray for all of your friends who do not know the Lord. Take another day and pray for our ministry, that we will grow in love and serve the Lord with no reservations. Pray for our community. Pray for our pastors. Praise God for who He is. Pray for the recession. Pray for those who are out of jobs right now. Pray for the hungry. Pray for the missionaries. Ask the people around you for specific things you can pray for and do it: RIGHT THEN. Pray for these things in some kind of mix, not necessarily focusing on one each day. There is not a shortage on things to pray for, there is a shortage on PRAYER for things that need to be prayed for. Sometimes, prayer can be done while you are doing something else (washing clothes, dishes, maybe even studying, during lunch, times that you are "relaxing" (if anyone still does that)). For this goal to be met, maybe something needs to be cut out (a tv show, sporting event, a workout, internet, facebook, phone call, family (ideally, prayer with family if they are Children of God)). You can make your necessary adjustments. Let us pray, and seek the Kingdom with all that we are, and die daily, pick up our crosses, share the Gospel, and love our neighbors and one another, esteeming them higher than ourselves, so that when we have finished the race (2 Tim 4:1-7) we can rest eternally in the presence of our Creator, Savior, and Sustainer. Grace and peace. - Bubba