G O D’ S C AL L T O P R AY E R
To me these go hand in hand. I maintain an active prayer life because I have answered God’ s call, and I have answered God’ s call because I maintain an active prayer life.
Prayer has become something I do on both a regular and irregular basis. My wife and I teach our kids to pray at every meal in hope of teaching thanks-giving and acknowledgment of the good works of God in our lives. I have learned in life that there is no“ right or wrong time” to pray other than“ any time”.
If you are talking to someone, or walking by someone or thinking about someone and you get that nervous slightly uncomfortable, not sure what I should do feeling then pray, that’ s what I try to do. Because I believe that uncomfortableness, heart beating a little faster, nervousness, is God. I believe The Holy Spirit feels that way to me because left to our own devices we are sinners. God created us with free will. Our Father created us with the ability to love Him or reject Him.
I have spent a great deal of my life not praying when these opportunities present themselves, only to walk away or look back and see the missed opportunity. I feel like those missed opportunities were times I rejected God, or didn’ t answer his call.
So I have tried to learn from those rejections and as new occasions rise up I try to respond differently, I try to answer His call, I try to pray, or open the door for someone else to pray. The beauty of all of it in the words of a great mentor“ no matter how hard I try God doesn’ t let me mess it up!” And that’ s grace. Grace is what allows me to keep coming back. God’ s grace is what keeps giving me opportunities to answer His call.
Sure it is a little awkward, sure I am outside my comfort zone, or I am nervous, so what! I have learned to ask myself,“ How did Jesus feel, what was he thinking when he uttered,‘ Father forgive them for they do not know what they do’ was he comfortable on the cross?” Embrace that uncomfortable feeling, and go with it. This is how I maintain an active prayer life, by being aware of the possibilities of answering God’ s call, and answering God’ s call by actively praying!
In His love Tim Scott