A Life of Prayer

 A faith that works is seen in a person and a church that prays faithfully.

1. Pray in every circumstance of life.

“Life is always going to be a mixture of ups and downs, but the constant among Christians is to be how we respond—we are to bring it all before the Lord, whether in praise or prayer. There is no situation in life where prayer to God is not relevant or right. Our whole lives are to be lived in relation to God. There’s never a time when it’s not good to pray.” —Sam Allberry

2. Pray for the sick.

“Therefore, before one calls for the healing ministry, he must, as best he can, examine his life for any known sin and humbly confess it to God (cf. Psalm 66:18; 139:23,24; Proverbs 28:13). In this respect the miseries of illness can open avenues of grace as they help clear away the traffic which has stalled its flow.” — Kent Hughes

“We all have a responsibility to one another in this area. We need to have the kind of friendships where we can share our struggles. We need to have people to whom we can confess major and persistent sin. We need to be humble enough to do so. We will not be in a position to do this unless we spend time cultivating meaningful, safe, and open friendships with others at church, whether through structures like a Bible-study group or prayer group, or through the informal friendships that emerge when we take fellowship seriously.” — Sam Allberry

3. Pray for one another.

“The potency of prayer has subdued the strength of fire, it has bridled the rage of lions, hushed anarchy to rest, extinguished wars, appeased the elements, expelled demons, burst the chains of death, expanded the fates of heaven, assuaged diseases, dispelled frauds, rescued cities form destruction, stayed the sun in its course, and arrested the progress of the thunderbolt. There is (in it) an all-sufficient panoply, a treasure undiminished, a mine which is never exhausted, a sky unobscured by clouds, a heaven unruffled by the storm. It is the root, the fountain, the mother of a thousand blessings.” —John Chrysostom