Making prayer a priority

During the past 7 months here in Korea, God has taught me a lot of things, but one of the most significant has been the joy of intercessory prayer.  The stressful circumstances of moving and adapting to a foreign country certainly drove me at first to pray more fervently for myself and my own family, but lately I have been surprised by the newfound sense of purpose and satisfaction that I have experienced by praying for others as well. 

A few months after our arrival, once we were settled in our home here, I found myself with little to do.  Being at home with the kids all day, without a vehicle to tempt me out of the house, and with the kids still taking long afternoon naps and going to bed early while my husband worked late, I found myself with more free hours to myself during the day than ever before.  I quickly became bored and frustrated, and asked God why on earth he brought me to Korea to see nothing but the inside of our apartment.   I felt like I had no purpose, no ministry outside of the home, no significance.  But God opened my eyes to the fact that those 4-5 hours a day of peace and quiet in my home was an unprecedented gift to me – an opportunity to spend more time with Him and more time in prayer.

I have to admit that I have not always taken full advantage of this opportunity the way I should have.  I have spent far too much time napping, surfing the internet and reading blogs.  But on the positive side, I have also been much more consistent with doing my devotions, and consequently with praying for others I know are in need.  There have been many big events and changes in the lives of my family and friends back home this year - everything from major illnesses to moving to weddings to babies being born to new careers, etc etc, and being so far away I felt helpless to do anything for them.  But in a way, even my helplessness has been a gift, because it has reminded me to do what is most important, and that is lifting them up before the throne of grace in heaven.  If I were physically present with them, I could do many things – cook meals, visit, bring gifts, call them up to talk, etc.  But in the midst of all that “doing” I might forget to pray for them, thinking I had done my part to help them, when really it is only God who can give the true comfort, encouragement and guidance that we all need during stressful times.  God has used my “boredom” to remind me powerfully of the importance of prayer, that we all need much more of it than we think, and that the best use of our time is to talk to Him about all the needs we see around us.  He can take care of them much better than we can.

 “As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you…” 1 Samuel 12:23