Welcome to the 10 Day Col. Diet! I’m glad you made it. And I hope you make it back everyday and participate! Starting today and for the next 9 days you will find a healthy dose of Colossians as well as a challenge for personal application. Every time you stop by, go ahead a leave a quick comment to let us know you were here. Each comment gives you an entry into a drawing. The more you comment, the more chances you have to win! The winner will get their choice of one of these book options: The Message (in denim color), Come Along, and What Happens When Women Walk in Faith.
Ready to get started?
Today’s Diet Dose: Read Colossians 1:1-14 & Colossians 4:2-4
The beginning and the end.
It’s the first and last thought on Paul’s mind.
Prayer.
Communication between friends, quiet moments listening, intimate soul searching talks.
In my journey, prayer has come and gone and come again.
I remember a time, maybe 3 or 4 years ago, where all I wanted to study was prayer. Then my depression kicked in and I moved into an isolated, lonely place hiding from God. However, God brought me back with a new desire for prayer in my life.
Prayer for some people is quiet time, reflection, meditation. It may include certain steps or move in a particular sequence. Some people record their prayers in notebooks or journal their way through prayer.
Today, God is teaching me an art of prayer that never ceases – an ongoing open dialogue that moves throughout the day. It has no rules or any boundaries. And I like it!
We always pray for you, and we give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. For we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all of God’s people, which come from your confident hope of what God has reserved for you in heaven. You have had this expectation ever since you first heard the truth of the Good News.Col 1:3-5(NLT)
This new outlook has brought new meaning to “we always pray for you.” Earlier in my journey those words sounded very intimidating. I imagined a monk in a hole somewhere with a large scroll and quill pen bringing constant supplication to the Father. (Not that there is anything wrong with that!) But if you read Paul’s writings you know he was very busy. Sure he had his solitude moments in jail. But, even in jail, read what he encourages us to do in Col 4:2-4:
Pray diligently. Stay alert, with your eyes wide open in gratitude. Don’t forget to pray for us, that God will open doors for telling the mystery of Christ, even while I’m locked up in this jail. Pray that every time I open my mouth I’ll be able to make Christ plain as day to them. (The Message)
Paul was always looking for opportunities to share Christ. He could have huddled quietly in the corner asking the guards not to disturb him because he was praying.
Of course, there are times when quiet solitude is absolutely necessary and vital for our health. But, prayer doesn’t have to be quiet. Nor does it have to be the same each and every day.
Prayer.
- consistent, constant, never-ending
- eager, persistent, tireless
- watchful, vigilant, spirited
Always praying, diligent and alert. That was Paul’s prayer life. How about yours?
Challenge: Take a base line measurement of your prayer life. How do you pray, when do you pray, do you have any rules to prayer? Then spend a few moments in evaluation. Allow God to speak to your heart about how He desires prayer to work for you.
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for further consideration:
Take Time to Listen Today (quiet listening prayer)
Is Prayer Important (why pray)
Victories in Prayer (answers to prayer)
I thought this post looked interesting but now that I have read the whole thing, I am really excited to join in on the 10 day diet.
I’m in too! As for my prayer life right now – I set time aside every morning. But continually praying through out the day is a habit I need to work on. I find myself obsessively thinking about something and then when I realized how much time I’ve wasted I think – duh – I should have been talking to God about my issue instead of wrestling with my own thoughts. Today when I’m having my one sided conversation in mind head – I’m going to invite someone to join me – I will no-longer be a crazy woman talking to myself, I’ll be a crazy woman talking to God:) JK
Joining on for the ten day diet. I know it is what I need.
Hi Shane,
Years ago I too was doing a study on prayer and the women of this group shared a tip to develop a habit of praying constantly. We identified things in our daily life that would prompt us to pray. Driving by the house of a friend / Pray for them (which we found would also prompt us to pray for other families God had laid on our hearts). See a fire truck or ambulancen / pray for those we know are in need of healing. See a police car / pray for God to keep you mindful of His will and His way and to give you and your family a heart to obey. When the phone rings / lift up a quick prayer thanking God for calling you into His perfect plan …when you hang up / lift up a prayer for the one you just talked to.
And so on… it became something we could share with our families and helped us develope a mind that remembered to pray and a heart that missed it if we didn’t. Just like any habit…once started, hard to stop.
Thanks for hosting this…looking forward to the next 9 days!
It is so hard for me to be consistent in anything (except being on the computer on facebook, blogger and my emails), but I want to try, since it IS only 10 days, to get a little consistency in the Word. This is great because I LOVE Colossians. Good reminder re: prayer. I sometimes get frustrated because I don’t have a “prayer life”, then realize that I’m constantly talking to God about things and when people come to mind, for whatever reason, I pray for them and their families. Tami has good ideas, some of which I do try to do. With Facebook, I’m trying to pray for those who have birthdays for the day, emailing or writing a short note (snail mail) to those whose pics I see to the left – even just once or twice a week – and mainly those I haven’t seen in ages (old classmates, friends who moved away, etc. Now that I’ve moved away from my hometown, I’m trying to keep in touch with people and praying for them. Thanks for this and I hope to be consistent the next 9 days…and beyond.
I am so glad that God is not limited to listening to us only when we are quiet, with our eyes closed and our hands folded!
I love that we can pray anytime, anywhere, about anything!
Hope you have a great vacation and – don’t worry – if I draw your name for the book, I’ll hold onto it until you’ve had a chance to watch the video. *grin*
Prayer for me is simply a conversation–a two way communication between my heart and his. I don’t always do so well with the listening, but I don’t think he minds. I think he finds pleasure in my words/petitions/thoughts/questions. It means I’m trusting him with their “voice”. And as long as I’m talking to him, my mind is closer to heaven than when I’m not.
I usually talk to him at night on my prayer quilt and always while out running. Sometimes I ramble my thoughts while driving; my radio/cd player isn’t working anymore (too cheap to get it fixed), so a quiet van makes ample room for words/thoughts.
I should do better about keeping a prayer journal, although that’s never quite been a “fit” for me. Not sure how I feel about that.
I’m going to read Colossians tonight and “prayerfully” consider my response. Thanks for the challenge.
peace~elaine
I pray a lot as a conversation through out the day to the Lord, but I need to also take specific times each day to talk to Him on a consistent basis.
I once heard that there are as many different types of prayer as there are people in the world. That thought comforted me! I pray 100 different ways depending on the day. Sometimes when I read something sad in the paper, I stop and close my eyes and pray. When we see an accident or an ambulance, my daughter calls on Jesus. I give prayers of thanks for “near misses” a two year old that “almost” falls off the couch or for the car that almost backed into us in the parking lot. I am always whispering up prayers of thanks when my heart feels full. We pray every night as a family at bedtime and sometimes my son is running around the room making all sorts of noise and other times he’s sitting on the bed with the rest of us continually saying “cool! cool!” So for me, prayer comes as it comes in the moment. And I like it that way! A lovely lady in bible study once said, “I never say Amen….because I’m NEVER finished praying” Love that!