I loved the sermon this morning on cultivating a “culture of prayer” within our church. The pastor talked about fostering this culture first in our own hearts.
I love thinking about cultivating and promoting a culture of prayer in my life and in my family culture. A family culture of prayer means we talk to God regularly, openly, and joyfully. Can you imagine building a family like this? How wonderful! Think of it:
We pray “without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17); we pray when we feel anxious about anything (Philippians 4:6); we devote ourselves to prayer (Colossians 4:2); we pray in the Spirit “on all occasions” (Ephesians 6:18). We pray when we don’t know what to do. We pray when someone is sick (James 5:14-16). We pray for wisdom and for the fruit of the Spirit to grow in us. We pray when we’re celebrating, when we’re sad, and when we’re lonely. We pray because God is near, He hears us, and He responds. He is our “ever-present help in time of need” (Psalm 46:1).
I love recording our prayers and God’s response to them. I love praise, confession, thanksgiving, and asking. I love creating a culture of prayer. We can start small with prayers for what’s concerning us as we sit down to dinner. We can pray before we leave for our day. We can pray in the afternoon for strength for the evening’s work. Before we know it, we will have built a family culture of prayer.