Do This: Put Prayer on the Short List

“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.” (Colossians 4:2)

How many things in your life would you say that you’re 100 percent committed to? By definition, that has got to be a short list, right? You can’t be fully committed to too many people or ideas or disciplines at once.

dothis_350Paul wants us to add something to that tiny list – talking to God. He tells his friends in Colosse to be “devoted to” prayer. That means the impulse to say something to God is more than just a “should” but as current in every moment as the instinct to send a text to a friend whenever something worth saying pops into mind.

How can we do that? He says they – and we – should be watchful for what to ask for God’s help with and for what to tell him thanks for. Just like someone into a new social media app, Paul wants us to be constantly on the look-out for something worth posting to our Father.

Think: How many things do you ask God for in a typical day? How many would do you tell him thanks for? What would it take to increase those numbers this week?

Pray: Tell God thanks for 10 good things right off the top of your head. Then ask him to help you to be more devoted to him in prayer.

Do: Make a short list of things in your life that you are seriously 100 percent committed to.