A Day Without Prayer

For some time now, I have been increasingly pre-occupied with the concern of my family reunion coming up in August.  We are gathering in some remote spot in Oregon that cannot be flown to directly.  We can fly to Portland, Redmond, or Seattle, Washington, and then rent a car and drive to the reunion site.  Probably we will have to rent a hotel room the night before driving to the resort, as all flights from Mississippi to Portland arrive late in the day. 

As I have checked flights over the past month, I have found them extremely expensive -- $600-$800 each -- for five people.  So I have been worrying about how to afford getting all of us to the family reunion.  Yesterday morning, as I began my prayer time, I thought about the advice from travel experts to book flights on a Tuesday, so I thought I'd start the day by searching for less expensive flights and then pray afterwards. 

After an hour or so on the computer, with no success in my quest, I then decided it was a gorgeous day and that I'd go work out in the yard early, and pray later.  You know the rest of the story.  As the day went on, I found myself more "anxious about many things," and for some reason, very sad -- a most unusual feeling for me.  I just felt sad and worried all day, but I could not really pinpoint why -- until I realized that I had gone all day without praying.

When my children were growing up, one of them would often say to me, "Mom, tell [a sibling] never to do that again!"  And I would always laugh and say, "___________, never to do that again!"  Well, yesterday, by the end of the day, I was telling myself  "never to do that again."  This morning, I could not wait to begin my time of prayer. 

All of Scripture extols the Living Word of the Lord and what it does for those who digest it on a daily basis.  Here is one example from Psalm 18:

The word of the Lord is flawless.

He is a shield for all who take refuge in Him....

It is God who arms me with strength

and makes my way perfect.

He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;

He enables me to stand upon the heights.

He trains my hands for battle;

my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

You give me your shield of victory,

and your right hand sustains me;

you stoop down to make me great.

You broaden the path beneath me,in

so that my ankles do not turn....(vv.30-36)

 

And Ephesians Chapter 6 tells us this:  Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.  Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.  For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.  Therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand....

 

Stand firm, then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.  In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.  Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.  And pray in the Spirit on all ocasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.  With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

 

Yesterday, I went out to face the world without any armor or interior strength at all.  In a way, I'm glad I reminded myself of why I pray -- and felt what the rest of the non-praying world feels every day.  But today, I've got my belt, my breastplate, my shoes, my shield, my helmet, and my sword, and the God of peace will rule over my heart and my head all day.  I'm never doing that again!