AP

“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.” (Colossians 4:2)

If you are anything like me, prayer can easily become the thing you struggle to get stuck into. Life is busy. Your mind wanders, and prayer feels like another responsibility you are failing at.

But prayer is not an achievement; it is dependence.

Prayerfulness is recognising that we need God and then living that out. It is coming to our Father with open hands. We come because Jesus has opened the way. We are not strangers trying to get God’s attention; in Christ, we are children who know our Father hears us.

That means that prayer belongs in the ordinary stuff of life: before heading into work; while washing the dishes; when the phone rings with bad news; when a relationship becomes strained; when something wonderful happens. Or when we simply have no idea what to do next.

This matters for our congregations too. We can welcome newcomers, care for one another, teach children, run programs and serve our neighbourhoods. But only God changes hearts. Only God brings people from death to life. Only God grows us in Christ.

Prayer does not mean doing nothing. It means that, as we get stuck into serving one another, we know who must do the work.

So perhaps the question is not, “Am I good at prayer?” but “Am I learning to depend upon God?”

May that that kind of prayerfulness mark us, our homes and our churches.

– Davo Gunning, Adelaide Presbyterian Church Norwood