APRIL 28

James 5:13-18

YOU MUST PRAY (II)

You must pray as often as you can. James teaches this. Whether in good times or in bad times, we must pray. When a Christian suffers, he prays for strength. When he is happy, he praises God. When he is sick, the church prays for him. When Christians squabble, they forgive and pray one for another and reconcile.

Here is an interesting story of a servant who had a good habit of praying. She worked as a servant in a church minister’s house. Often the minister had other ministers coming in his house to discuss tough questions about the Bible.This time, they came together to discuss how the command to pray unceasingly could be obeyed. They shared ideas and then arranged to further discuss this topic during the next meeting.

At the time of the discussion, the servant was serving in the room. She asked why more meetings were necessary to find the meaning of the Bible text.She said,"It’s one of the easiest verses in the Bible."Puzzled,her master asked, "Mary, what do you know about it? Can you pray all the time?" She said, "Yes." Her master was even more puzzled, saying that she had many things to do in the house. He wondered how she could pray all the time. In fact, she replied that the more work she did, the more she prayed.

She explained that in the morning upon waking up, she would pray, "Lord,open the eyes of my understanding."While she was doing the washing, she would pray, "Lord, please wash my sins away." As she began work, she would pray, "Lord, give me strength for all the work of the day." While she kindled the re at the replace, she would pray, "Lord, rekindle me." While preparing the meals, she would pray, "Lord, feed me with the Bread of Life and the milk of the Word." As she swept the house, she would pray, "Lord, sweep away all the impurities from my heart."As she took care of the master’s children, she would pray, "Lord, give me the faith of a little child."

She went on and on. Finally, the minister concluded, "Dear brothers, let us thank the Lord for this lesson."

Thought: Can you think of how you can pray in the same way as the maid?
Prayer: Heavenly Father, help me to pray unceasingly. I know it is easy to forget to pray, especially when school starts so early and it’s always a rush. But Heavenly Father, please teach me to learn from the praying maid. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
(Story adapted from ‘How God Used A understorm’ by J R Beeke & D Kleyn)