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Ephesians 6:18-20 (KJV) 18Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching
thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;  19And for me, that utterance may be
given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,  20For which I
am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

Praying is not easy!

Everybody tells you a different way to pray, and if you are new to praying, you might not know
what to say. Some people have memorized prayers that they say regularly. Other people pray in
their own prayer language. Still others sing their prayers. I do not believe that any of these are
wrong. I do believe that our “beliefs” make prayer very confusing.
I want to start off by saying that I am not a Biblical scholar. I am just an ordinary woman. I was
brought up knowing who Jesus was, and going to various churches every week, but I did not
really accept Jesus as my personal Savior until the Saturday before 9/11. God’s timing is perfect.
I prayed a prayer that invited the Holy Spirit into my heart, a prayer that marked me forever. I
started my new life as a Christian with a very simple prayer, and it felt so good, I wanted to keep
praying, but I wasn’t sure how to do it. Like I said, I wasn’t a Biblical scholar, so I couldn’t quite
understand what the Bible teaches about prayer, so I headed to the library. I started looking for
books and articles about prayer, but the more I read, the more confused I got. There were so
many opinions about which way is the right way to pray! There are even more books and articles
now, so I am not really going to talk about the “how” here.
Jump ahead a few months… I started to work my new faith into my job as a children’s
entertainer. It was pretty easy. I remember talking to the ministry clowns about this “Armor of
God” thing they used to teach the kids. I found the section in Ephesians, and read, and read. I
started practicing it, and the first time I went to perform it in church, something wonderful
happened. I read the few verses after the Armor of God passage, and was floored. Paul wrote
exactly what I needed to pray before I started my lesson.
Ephesians 6:18-20 (KJV) 18Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit,
and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;  19And for me,
that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the
mystery of the gospel,  20For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak
boldly, as I ought to speak.

WOW! This is what I had been looking for! It had it all!

I have read this scripture over and over many times throughout the past few years. I learned how
to pray it and make it my own prayer request, but it really didn’t become clear until tonight when
I was thinking about a conversation I had with a friend, about making a list of the different
places you can fit prayer into your day, that it all clicked. This passage really does have it all!
The Holy Spirit had stirred it up in my soul, and just waited until my imperfect human brain
could begin to comprehend it! God is Good!
Pray Constantly -
18
Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all
perseverance and supplication for all saints

We are supposed to be doing it all the time?!? How are we supposed to function and be in
constant prayer?!?

Well, I haven’t figured out how to not stop praying, but I have gotten some advice from a few
different places that I have made my own, and I hope you do, too.

Find triggers for your prayer. We have all kinds of things that trigger other behaviors, and we
are certainly smarter that Pavlov’s dog, so why can’t we choose our own bell? That way when
the bell rings, our natural response is to pray. It doesn’t have to be a long prayer… just a
sentence or two, but if we can train ourselves to think of God, and his people, when certain
everyday things occur… wouldn’t that be AWE-some?

Remember others in your prayers. -

  19And for me,
Paul specifically asked other Christians to pray for him! That means that it is expected that we
pray for other people… in a way, it also shows us that it is ok to ask other people to pray for us,
too.

Pray out loud.

…that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the
mystery of the gospel,  20For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak
boldly, as I ought to speak.

Ok, there is a time when silent prayer is a good thing, but in this part of this scripture, it shows
that we need to be bold. Do you grace the food as a family in a restaurant… aloud? Do you say,
“Thank you, God!” and give Him the praise when something goes right during your day? Do you
talk to other people about Jesus at all? (That is really a time that you want to be asking God to
take over the conversation, right?)
Paul is showing us how to speak up and witness. He is showing us that we might not like the
consequences of being bold in our faith, but that the right thing to do is to speak with the words
that God wants us to use.
There are a lot of books that show the power of the spoken word. It helps people remember
things, too. So maybe if you pray, out loud, for other people, all the time, you will remember to
pray for other people all the time… no? Well, it sounded good the first time.
Pray wherever you are.
 Top 10 Easy Places to Say a Quick Prayer

1. Before you get out of bed

and before you go to sleep
2. In the shower
3. While reading e-mail
4. While fixing a meal
5. While getting dressed
6. As you walk out the door and return home
7. At every stop light or stop sign
8. When you pay for something
9. When you answer the phone or door
10. When you hear someone call your name.
  Before you get out of bed and before you go to sleep

This one has been talked about by just about every Christian woman I know. Most
of the strong Titus 2 role models, I look to for good example say that it is
important to pray before your feet even touch the floor in the morning. It only
stands to reason that you would want to thank God for helping you through your
day before you go to sleep; I have heard these prayers called the bookends of your
day.

An example for your morning prayer might be:

Dear Lord,
So far today, I am doing all right.  I have not gossiped, lost my temper, been
greedy, grumpy, nasty, selfish, or self indulgent.
However, I am going to get out of bed in a few minutes, and I will need a lot
more help after that.
Amen.

It sounds like a joke, but I know that’s how I feel every morning!

Then at the end of the day, as I am finally going to bed, I thank God that my family
is home, safe, and sleeping.

 In the shower

This is a favorite place to pray for many of the mother’s I know. I usually don’t
take a lot of time in the shower, so most of the time I just thank God that I live in a
place that clean, running water is a normal condition. Sometimes, I pray for the
women I know that are battling breast cancer when I do my monthly check, and I
thank God for blessing me with the long hair that he has provided me with, as my
covering.

 While reading e-mail

During the ’06-’08 deployment I prayed that my e-mails didn’t contain bad news,
and that the spam would be blocked. Now I have started to pray for each person
that sends me e-mail.

 While fixing a meal

This is one of my favorite times to praise God and give thanks for Him providing
me with a husband, and for His providing my husband with a job that allows us to
eat well balanced meals every day. I thank God for the food, and I ask Him to bless
all the people that allowed the food to get to our kitchen.

 While getting dressed

Again, I thank God for providing me with a husband, and for His providing my
husband with a job that allows us to have the clothes we need. I also thank Him for
the home that He has provided for us.

 As you walk out the door and return home.

I read The Power of the Praying Wife a few years ago, and I keep the list of things
to pray each day, for your husband, by the door. There is a different area to pray
about each day, and the list is numbered, so I look at the number for that date, and
say that prayer as I head to the car.

When I return home, I thank God for carrying me safely to and from wherever we
went. I thank Him for keeping the house safe while we were gone, and ask Him to
bless our home and keep us safe within it.

 At every stop light or stop sign

I use this time to pray for my husband. I started this after reading Created to Be
His Help Meet a few years back. Not only does it dispel any chance of road rage or
frantic feeling when I am running late, it also blesses my husband.

 When you pay for something

This is another time I Thank God for giving us the money to purchase all of the
things we need and some of the things we want.

 When you answer the phone or door

Here, I pray that I only get good news, and that God would bless whomever is
trying to reach me.

 When you hear someone call your name

Here again, I pray that I only get good news, and that God would bless whomever
is trying to get my attention.

Ephesians 6:18-20 (KJV) 18Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the
Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all
saints;  19And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my
mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,  20For which I am an
ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.