Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.
—Ephesians 6:18

How is your prayer life? Is prayer a central and significant part of your life, or is it something you only do when you are with other believers? Is prayer a daily discipline for you, or do you mainly pray when you get in trouble? Do you pray when you are home alone, or do you find that you pray and worship the Lord only when you come to church and are in the presence of other worshiping and praying people?

To pray regularly requires discipline. Unfortunately, most people are “on-again, off-again” when it comes to prayer. They are faithful for a while, but then they fall out of prayer because they are too tired to get up early, or they become distracted by other things.

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bookmark2But how often are we supposed to pray? Ephesians 6:18 gives us the answer! It says, “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.”

The word “always” is taken from the Greek phrase en panti kairo. The word en would be better translated at. The word panti means each and every. You could say that this word panti is an all-encompassing word that embraces everything, including the smallest and most minute of details. The last word in this Greek phrase is the word kairo, the Greek word for times or seasons. When all three of these words are used together in one phrase (en panti kairo) as in Ephesians 6:18, they could be more accurately translated at each and every occasion.

Ephesians 6:18 conveys this idea:

“Pray anytime there’s an opportunity — no matter where you are or what you’re doing. Use every occasion, every season, every possible moment to pray….”

This clearly tells us that prayer is not optional for the Christian who is serious about his or her spiritual life. According to this scripture, believers are to make prayer a top priority. Yet, unfortunately, prayer is largely disregarded by the average Christian today.

If prayer isn’t a priority in your life right now, why not make it a priority starting today? You might say, “But I don’t have time to pray.” You have time to do whatever you really want to do. If it’s truly in your heart to pray, you can find the time. And if your schedule is as busy as you think it is, take Ephesians 6:18 to heart. Grab any available time you can find, and make it your prayer time. Why not start this day out right? Make a quality decision to make prayer your first order of business!

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My Prayer for Today

Lord, I ask You to help me become consistent in prayer. I admit that other things have distracted me from being in Your Presence, but I ask You to forgive me for this and to give me the strength to say no to those things that keep pulling me away from time in prayer. Thank You for helping me to make this a high priority in my life. I know that with Your help, I can learn to discipline myself to pray. Thank You for helping me get started on the right path today!

I pray this in Jesus’ name!

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My Confession for Today

With God’s help, I have the power to say no to the distractions that keep trying to steal my time with God. Prayer is a top priority in my life; therefore, I am consistent and habitual in my prayer time. Nothing is a higher priority than the time I spend every day with God. From this moment onward, I will be as faithful as can be when it comes to this issue of prayer!

I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!

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Questions to Answer

1. Have you been “on-again, off-again” in your prayer life? What keeps distracting you from being consistent in your prayer life?

2. What type of event in your life consistently jolts you out of prayerlessness and into a time of praying?

3. What changes do you need to make in your life or environment to assure that your prayer life becomes disciplined and consistent?