Pray About Everything

It may be one of those simple, yet profound truths of life in Christ, but we are to pray about everything.  After all, Paul tells us in Philippians 4:6 (TLB) Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything; tell God your needs, and don’t forget to thank him for his answers. One of the main points he makes in this passage is to pray instead of worrying.  We are also to pray about everything even when no worry is involved.  What has become obvious to me is that I haven’t been applying this to all areas of my life, though I thought I was.  (One more place to kill pride!)  I have been making assumptions rather than praying, which leads to some consequences the Lord doesn’t intend for me to face.

At the end of a long week of visiting my husband’s mother in Colorado, I asked the Lord a simple, but direct, question.  “Why has this trip been so hard?”  The travel was uneventful, the appointments and errands minimal, and his mother was fine.  Despite all these positives, I found it difficult to remain peaceful and patient, had not been able to write, and had to battle the wishes for the week to be over.  The Lord spoke to my heart an equally simple, yet direct, answer.  “I didn’t tell you to come.”

Immediately, I understood.  Without praying, I had assumed that I should come on this trip because I hadn’t come the previous time.  It really doesn’t matter why I wasn’t supposed to be there, or why I was supposed to be in North Carolina during that week.  What matters is that I didn’t pray about it to determine God’s plan for me before making and following through with my plans.  That’s why it was a hard trip for me.

Life example number two:  For many years I have volunteered for a day during the Christmas season at the Operation Christmas Child warehouse in Charlotte.  For many of those years I have also organized a group to spend the day volunteering together.  Even as I finalize this year’s plans, I have the same stirring about needing to pray about this.  I am not to assume I am to do the same thing next year just because I’ve done it so many times.  Yes, it’s a great opportunity, they need the help, and it’s a good time of fellowship for the group.  As with the Colorado trip, however, it has nothing to do with the validity of the effort, but all to do with praying about everything.

Once the current Charlotte trip is completed and I pray about my part in future efforts, it’s quite possible the Lord will give the go-ahead.  Just because He reminds me to pray about everything doesn’t mean He will say “no”.  Because He already knows what tomorrow, next week, next month, and next year will hold, He knows where I need to be and when I need to be there.  He wants me to get His perspective through prayer so that I can live in His plan for me.  When I’m in His plan, rather than mine, I am positioned for all the other prayers He wants me to pray – for others, as well as myself.  The starting point is simply to pray about everything.

© Copyright 2009  Kay V. Stocking