Making Time to Pray
But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer. 1 Peter 4:7
When faced with a big decision or fraught with a new diagnosis, we can start to pray like we never prayed before. But why wait to pray? There is much to pray for every day.
Between work and play – we need to make time to pray.
In the verse above, the word “sober” has to do with clear thinking. Then the word “watch” is used and says we are to “watch unto prayer.” It means to abstain from wine. Abstaining from alcohol helps keep the mind clear. It is a word that when applied indicates having clear attention. While alcohol clouds the mind, we must be clear headed to pay attention to prayer. The Lord wants us to have a clear mind and level-headed thinking so we can give time to praying.
Most American Christians are too distracted to make time to pray. For example:
Recode.net says American spend 5 hours watching TV every day. In comparison: Media and Methods reports the average American spends only five hours per year reading books.”
The A.C. Nielson Co says that “TV viewing began to rise in the 1960’s. It is approximately the same point in time that the Standard Achievement Test scores began to decline. This time frame is significant because the first generation to cut its teeth on TV began taking SATs in the early 1960’s.
Spin.com says Americans listen to 4 hours of music each day.
In many ways, we are “entertained out of our minds!” Our minds are “clouded- full of entertainment.” No wonder we do not take the time to pray like we should. The stats above do not even factor small screen time (cellphones, tablets, etc).
Be sure to “Watch” unto prayer today. Decisive action and a definite plan to pause and pray can be taken in your life today.
Make some time to pray – today.
EDC Christian 