Key Verses: Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

There are at least three types of prayer. 1) The crisis prayer. (When we only cry in trouble, sickness, or general problems.) 2) The want prayer. ( When we want God to do something for us, new job, bigger house, etc) and 3) The relationship prayer. (It is just part of us as we love to talk with the Father.)

There’s a supposedly true story of a Welsh woman who lived in a remote valley in Wales. She went to a great deal of trouble and expense to have electrical power installed in her home. However, after a couple of months, the electric company noticed she didn’t seem to use very much electricity at all.

Thinking there might be a problem with the hookup, they sent a meter reader out to check on the matter. The man came to the door and said, “We’ve just checked your meter and it doesn’t seem that you’re using much electricity. Is there a problem?”

“Oh no” she said. “We’re quite satisfied. We turn on the electric lights every night to see how to light our candles and then we switch them off again.”

Now, why didn’t this woman make more use of her electricity? She believed in electricity. She believed the promises of the electric company when they told her about it. She went to a great deal of trouble and expense to have her house wired for it but she didn’t understand the potential of electricity in her home and consequently, she used it’s power sparingly.

I suspect there are quite a few people reading this who use prayer sparingly. There is a big difference between praying just because we want or need something and prayer being part of our life.

Daniel is an example of someone whom prayer was a part of life. Daniel prayed 3 times every day. He prayed in his room. He prayed in the lion’s’ den. He prayed for wisdom. He prayed for guidance. He prayed that God would forgive the sins of His people Israel and return them to their home and he prayed for 21 days in Daniel 10 concerning a vision.

If we are undervaluing the power of prayer in our lives, it is most likely because we are not praying the way that God intended. A.W. Tozer taught, “To desire revival… and at the same time to neglect (personal) prayer and devotion is to wish one way and walk another.”





