Prayerfulness Amidst the Storm

“Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you; but I will teach you the good and the right way.”

Most people, if not all, since the start of the COVID crisis, started to pray genuinely. Some longer than the usual time and some with more intensified prayer. Driven by whatever reasons, prayer is the norm in this new norm. Prayer is simply talking to God, the God who spoke the universe into creation, who gives breath of life and holds all things together. He is the same God who desires for us to commune and relate to Him. In the vastness of everything, He cares about us individually in whatever situation that we are facing.

Considering the said statement, the question now is, how much do we pray especially in this storm and pandemic-stricken circumstance? How much do we put our prayers into action? When and how often do we pray? Do we pray before, during or after the storm or problems in life?

To answer these questions, let us define the word ‘prayerfulness’. Merriam Webster’s dictionary defines it as the condition wherein one is given to prayer, praying much or often as a devout. If we are to be devoted to God, we should go into deep and intensified prayers. This includes meditating on the things of God and His Word, and praying continually in all undertakings. We should therefore commit ourselves to pray for one another just as Prophet Samuel did to the people during his time. In so doing, God changes our hearts and we become like Him.

Storms in our lives may cease but our prayers never do. We pray before the storm, we pray during the storm and we still pray after the storm. For this reason, Saint Paul of Tarsus highly encourages and challenges us to pray without ceasing. Indeed, we will be a nation that will never cease to pray because our God never ceases to intercede for us. Our Great High Priest and intercessor, Jesus Christ, who was raised to life, makes intercession for us.

Billy Graham also said, “True prayer is a way of life, not just for use in cases of emergency”. We must not pray just because we are in an emergency situation or our nation is at a state of calamity. Instead, we pray in both good times and bad times, in sadness and gladness, in sorrow and joy. In everything we do, whether we sit or stand, eat or drink, we do it all for the glory of God. Our lips must be filled with prayers of gratitude and supplications. Imagine if the whole nation unites to pray, not only in disaster and emergency cases, our government will not just save up thousands of pesos for the betterment of our country but also for the next generation - a generation that is in pursuit of prayer. (CD, CRFV)