June 12, 2010

Today's reading: Job 42; Ecclesiastes 1, 2; Psalm 12, 42, 72, 102, 132; Proverbs 12

Job 42:10, "And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before."

The other night I was laying in bed and I could not sleep. Have you ever had that happen? Most of us have I am sure. I laid there and laid there and could not go back to sleep. I considered getting up; but, I was afraid that if I did I would wake up everyone else. As I laid there I began to think of people. Then I thought to myself that I did not think these people were coming to mind for no reason at all. So, I began to pray for all those who came to mind. Only God knows why this happened.

As I was reading our Scripture passage for today I thought about laying in bed and praying the other night. I was caught by the phrase "...when he prayed for his friends:". I wonder how often things would be different in my life if I would just spend more time in fervent prayer. Maybe I don't want to know. Maybe I do not spend any time in fervent prayer and would be deeply convicted about it. The truth is that we all could afford to spend more time in prayer. I am not talking about the child's bedtime prayer of, "Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray the Lord my soul to keep...". This is far from what I am talking about. However; this is the kind of prayer I am afraid we most often issue up in hopes of getting them answered. This ought not to be.

Prayer is spiritual work. I hope the next time you think of me you take the opportunity to pray for me and my family. I do my very best to pray for all who come to my mind because I desperately depend upon the prayers of God's people.

So, how are you doing?