12/10/13:

TFTD: “And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.” –Mark 1:35

For those of you who have known me for a long time this will come as no shock to you, and for those of you who I am just getting to know, here is a neat factoid about myself. I have wanted to be a D.C.E. for a long time. If you don’t believe me, let me share this story with you. My father has been a D.C.E. for 26 years and when I was young someone has asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. Can you guess what I told them? Wrong! I did not tell them that I wanted to be like my dad or that I wanted to be a D.C.E. I told them I wanted to be a high school kid because they got to do all of the fun and exciting activities and service projects. To this day I still have a desire to interact with High School youth because they are wonderful young people who have a need to know God.

One thing that I did not realize when I got into this ministry, that I really should have known already is how much ministry drives you to prayer. In Mark chapter 1 there is a story of Jesus that really captures this need for prayer. The evening before people from the area brought all people who were sick or oppressed by demons so that He could heal and cleanse them. The next morning Jesus got up early and went to be alone to pray. He needed time alone with His Father and so do we. The pressures of ministry or any other job give us wonderful opportunities to be in relationship with our Heavenly Father. There are so many things that we need guidance for and so many things that we can rejoice about that we should be in prayer as often as we can. If you don’t know how to pray or don’t know what to pray about here is a little helpful acronym: P.R.A.Y. – People, Responsibilities, Ailments, Yeah Gods! Have a conversation with God and start by praying for those people who are in your life, then move on to the responsibilities that you have and that others have, then move on to Ailments or things that you need healing or help doing, and finally finish off your prayer thanking God for all of the wonderful things you have been blessed with in your life. You will be amazed at the comfort and peace that you feel when you remember to pray.

“Prayer is the highest intelligence, the profoundest wisdom, the most vital, the most joyous, the most efficacious, the most powerful of all vocations.” –E.M. Bounds