“True, whole prayer is nothing but love.” — St. Augustine
“Pray without ceasing.” — Bible (1 Thessalonians 5:17)
“Habits can often become rituals that make no impact but prayer is a vital link in having strength and endurance in the home. The old saying, ‘A family that prays together, stays together’ carries a lot of weight. Prayer drives people to God – and God is ready to listen and answer. What a privilege that so many families miss out on. Prayer unifies and energizes the family unit. It can be a reminder that we do not have to go out into the world without the power of God going with us. Only by direct contact with God through prayer can we hope to have the serenity and security that will enable us to be a witness for Him in a dark and confused world.” (Billy Graham)
“As we Pray for America whose pledge of allegiance recounts that we are ‘one nation under God,’ and whose currency states that it is ‘in God we trust,’ we want Americans to encounter the God who rules over their country. ‘He who forms the mountains, creates the wind, and reveals His thoughts to man, He who turns dawn to darkness, and treads the high places of the earth – the LORD God Almighty is His name.’” (National Day of Prayer)
Praying without ceasing doesn’t mean that we are 24/7 with heads bowed saying things to God. Quoting J. Vernon McGee, “There was a famous preacher, years ago in the state of Georgia, who had many very unusual expressions. One of them was this, ‘When a man prays for a corn crop, God expects him to say Amen with a hoe.’ You can’t just stay on your knees all the time and pray for a corn crop. That’s pious nonsense. But to pray for the corn crop and then go to work is the thing our Lord is talking about in days when men’s hearts are failing them. ‘Men ought always to pray, and not to faint.’”
Author Ron Graham suggests some attitudes that would help us in our prayers.
1. Acceptance – Accept that God knows better than we do what our needs are.
2. Faith – Trust in what the Bible says and pray those words without doubting
3. Persistence - Matthew 7:7-8 "Keep on asking, keep on seeking, keep on knocking.” Jesus said we should always pray and not give up.
4. Right Motives - James 4:1-3 “You ask and do not receive because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures" Make sure our motives line up with God’s Word.
5. Harmony with God's Will – Our motives and our requests in prayer should always line up with God’s word. I.e, guard carefully the why as well as the what of our prayers.
6. Desire to Obey – Obey God’s Word not because we have to but because we want to.
7. Thanksgiving – 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus..”
The 2024 Aiken National Day of Prayer will be held on Thursday, May 2, 2024, with the theme, “Lift Up the Word, Light Up the World,” based on the verses found in 2 Samuel 22:29-31, “For you are my lamp, O Lord,and my God lightens my darkness. For by you I can run against a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall. This God—his way is perfect; the word of the Lord proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.”
The 12 noon event will be in front of the SRP Federal Credit Union on Laurens Street in downtown Aiken. The evening event will be in the Odell Weeks Activities Center at 1700 Whiskey Road at 7 p.m. The evening event has an agenda. The noon event is open prayer. Please join us, in person or wherever you are, in prayer for our families and this nation.
