Priority of Prayer

We are going to spend a week focused on the model prayer in Matthew 5:8-15.  Prayer is intended to be a priority in the life of the follower of Jesus Christ.  The importance of prayer is emphasized several times in the word of God.  But do we make it a priority?  As we study the Lord’s prayer we will see that genuine prayer is not what many think that it is.  Our Lord starts with the admonition not to pray in repetitive phrases and words.  But don’t so many people do this?  Many people have words they repeat over and over again at mealtime, in church or at bedtime; apparently thinking that the repetition of these words is meaningful to God.  In fact, people actually repeat these words of Jesus and call them the “Lord’s prayer”.  I think this is about as far away from what Jesus had in mind as we could get.

Is prayer a priority in your life?  Really?  How would the time you spend in prayer stack up against the time you spend on facebook?  Before you think that I am being “legalistic” answer the question!  How would the time you spend in prayer stack up against the time you surf the internet or watch TV?  Again, first answer the question before you get upset.  Now, I can’t tell you that you should spend more time praying than you do in facebook or on Yahoo.  However, I can tell you that if you spend a couple of minutes in prayer and a few hours a day on those other things that you are NOT making prayer a priority….you are simply not that interested in prayer.

My final question for you to consider is “why”?  What are you so uninterested in prayer?  I think that answering that question in a way that leads you to genuine, meaningful prayer, is the most important question on your plate right now.