Pray!

Pray!

Jeremiah 29 : 12 AMP 

Then you will call upon Me, and you will come and pray to Me, and I will hear and heed you.

Reading this verse in the right context will help me appreciate the value and timing of prayer. At the time Jeremiah was delivering this message, the elders, priests, prophets and the people had been taken as captives to Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon. Many of these people never returned to Jerusalem. Where did it go wrong for Judah here? These were the people God had chosen for Himself and gave specific instructions on how to live. He gave them laws and statutes, and terms of engagement so they could approach Him. Maybe out of comfort or convenience, or simply just carelessness, they forgot or ignored the rules and did what they liked. God sent several people to warn his people, but they would not listen. They had all the opportunities to pray to God for mercy and forgiveness in their own land, but they would not do it until trouble displaced them. 

For all of God's offers, there is a right time and season. If I miss the time and the season, it would be hard work to get it right again. Of course, God answers prayers, but He does not condone or excuse sin. He may not punish immediately, and this can sometimes give people a sense of comfort around sin. God wants me to come to Him often, seeking His face. He wants me to avoid sin like the plague it is, so He can move and do mighty things in my life. He wants to show Himself strong and mighty in my life, and one way to do that is to invite Him into my life to do what He alone can do. That is what prayer is: an admission that I cannot do anything by myself and the clear admission that God alone is the One who can do all things. Prayer is the clear invitation to God that He should step in and do whatever is His will in, through and around us. 

Have I made prayer a habit or is it this occasional exercise I engage in only when I need something urgent from God? I need to do it the right way and the right time so I can get the right results. I must not wait, like the exiles did, to get desperate and in trouble, before I pray. Well, God will always listen if I pray sincerely, but I would rather pray in familiar surroundings than in exile and under terrible conditions. God's promise is that when His people come and pray to Him, He will hear and heed their prayers. That is a promise you can depend on, because it is from the mouth of a God whose word is Yea and Amen. He hates sin but He deeply loves the sinner. I must call to Him on a daily and regular basis, so I can know His mind about anything He wants me to do. It will save me from a lot of heartache and trouble later on in life. God's time of favour is here.