Good morning!  Today’s devotion continues in Colossians chapter four. May it encourage or inspire you. Have a wonderful day.

Bible verse – Colossians 4:2-4 NLT

“² Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart. ³ Pray for us, too, that God will give us many opportunities to speak about his mysterious plan concerning Christ. That is why I am here in chains.  ⁴ Pray that I will proclaim this message as clearly as I should.”

Reflection

Apostle Paul’s letter to the believers in Colosse was coming to a close. He wrote the believers concerning many things and in these verses his attention turned to pray. There were a few things he mentioned:

• pray with an alert mind

• pray with a thankful heart

• pray for him (Apostle Paul and others)

• for opportunities to speak about Christ

• pray him to speak/proclaim the message of Christ clearly

There are many things that stick out in these verses, but verse two –“² Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart,” was powerful today.

Sisters and brothers, we devote ourselves to many things (e.g., our families, our jobs, etc.) but how often are we devoting ourselves to prayer? Apostle Paul, did not stop at devote yourself, he went a step further to sayhow to be intentional in prayer with an alert mind (undistracted) and a thankful heart (surrendered).

Here are a few questions to ponder on:

• It is so easy to say a quick prayer, it is so easy to get distracted, but how often do you set aside time to devote to prayer (time with God)?

• We devote time to other things and people all the time, but do you set aside undistracted and surrendered time with God?

• Who are you intentionally praying for today?

Put it into Action

Sisters and brothers, put a date and time on your calendar to intentionally devote yourself in prayer – alert (try to remain undistracted) with a thankful heart (a heart surrendered to God, that says here I am God have your way) this week. If you already have a routine that is great, but for those without, start small and work your way up to more time.Try at least two – five minutes of undistracted and surrendered prayer on your calendar twice this week, then twice a week each week after.

Prayer

Father we thank you for all that you have done and continue to do on our behalf. We thank you for your son Jesus Christ who came and died so that we can live and be reconciled to You. Father we want to spend more time in prayer and in conversation with you. We do not want to approach you like a kid making a wish list, but we want our prayers and time with you to be more intentional. God we want our hearts and minds changed when and after we meet with you. We want to experience all that you have to offer (e.g., peace, patience, joy, comfort, reassurance, etc.) us when we sit at your feet in prayer. God there is no one else who can do what you do when we are intentional about our time with you. God, help us to find time in our lives and our schedules to meet with you in prayer for ourselves and others. In Jesus name, amen.

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