Aglow prayer

When I was very young, a teenager in
fact, a friend shared something that really helped set my identity in a satisfying relationship with God.  We were doing a study on abiding in Christ from John 15 when Skip shared some thoughts from Albert J. Wollen.  He said that every Christian can enjoy “constant, conscious communion with God.”  Wow!  “Constant, conscious communion”  — being continually aware of God’s presence in my life moment by moment, worshipping Him and talking with Him in a practical, thoughtful way all the time.  I can just enjoy being with God no matter what I am doing, and furthermore, He is interested in being with me, too! 

Those three words and the thoughts Skip shared that day have stuck with me and marked my life with an awareness that everything about life in Christ is 24-7.  And those three simple words have been a benchmark to remind me that all the things we do to nurture our lives spiritually — like prayer, studying the Bible, worship, loving one another, stewardship – all those things are who we are, not just what we do.

A few years ago, a friend of mine was asked, “Linda, when do you pray?”  We all knew she had a very powerful, effective prayer life.  She was asked, “Do you pray in the morning, do you pray at night time, do you pray several times throughout the day?”  Linda didn’t have to think about her answer very long.  Her answer was immediate.  She said, “My life is a prayer.”

I Corinthians 6:19 says that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.  And Jesus said that His house, or His temple, is the house of prayer (Mark 11:17).   So, with Christ in us, we are His House of Prayer.  Prayer isn’t just something I do – it’s who I am. 

. . . Christ in you, the hope of glory!  (Colossians 1:27)