“As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD
by failing to pray for you…”
I Samuel 12:23
According to Samuel, prayerlessness is indeed a sin.
This verse is part of Samuel’s farewell address to the people of Israel. He served as judge, prophet, and priest — and he took his assignment seriously. He spoke truth, and wasn’t even afraid to confront the king when necessary.
Quite honestly, I feel a bit convicted by his words here and hope you do, as well.
Samuel’s challenge should spur us on to pray for those entrusted to us. Are you a mom, aunt, grandmother, mentor, or neighbor to a child? Do you teach Sunday School? Are you an Awana leader? Most likely every woman of God has a child she can pray for.
Noting that Samuel shares these words in his farewell address also reminds us that although our children may be adults, or our time of teaching 2nd grade school has ended, our prayer assignment has not. Samuel may have finished his priestly duties, but he was not finished praying for God’s people.
Are you and I continuing to pray in every season?
E.M. Bounds said this about prayer:
“Prayer should not be regarded as a duty
which must be performed,
but rather as a privilege to be enjoyed,
a rare delight that is always revealing some new beauty.”
Does prayer feel more duty than delight to you? Would you consider that it could become a privilege to be enjoyed?
Perhaps prayer confuses you. Where to begin? What to pray? Does it really make a difference?
Of course, prayer can include praise and thanksgiving, as well as intercession. We can pray for ourselves, our world, and our nation. The most selfless prayers we pray are those we pray for others. And as we are humbled by preparing our children for life, prayer is our most effective tool.
Praying God’s Word back to Him is a natural way to start praying, to learn to pray, and to continue on in prayer. Inspired by Samuel, this month’s Write the WORD endeavors to equip all of us to press in and pray for the children in our lives. On our Downloads page, you’ll find September’s free bookmarks with 30 Prayers & Verses for Our Children. Four different backgrounds are available, in hopes you will choose one you like to use each day and consider sharing others as a gift. The version with pink or blue baby prints is the perfect thing to tuck in with your gift to a new mom.
And be sure to visit the Cross My Heart YouTube channel tomorrow for a Martha Monday video with an overview of praying each of these 30 prayer points and verses.
Last week, we shared the first video from Laura’s fall Bible study of I Kings.
We hope this week’s teaching will find you inspired by David’s charge to his son Solomon as the baton of leadership was passed:
- Be strong.
- Man Up!
- Know the Word.
- Do the Word.
You can listen to the teaching from I Kings 2:2-3 here:
