"Men ought always to pray." (Luke 18:1)

"I will that men pray everywhere" (1 Timothy 2:8)

My youngest daughter gave me one of those new picture frames that you can download pictures on, and they play as a slide show all day long. I have pictures of about all of my family members, and pictures of friends. A lot of these pictures were taken when  family and friends came home for my Mama's Home Going, so again, when I say I have pictures of a lot of people, I mean hundreds.

 I walk by this picture frame many times during the day.  One day as I was walking passed the frame, I looked at the picture that was showing at the time, and God spoke to my spirit and said, "Pray for that Person." I thought, WOW, God what a good idea You have given me, so from that day forward as I walk by the frame, I look at it and see whose picture is showing. As I see the face in the picture, I say a little prayer for that person. I feel in my heart that God has a certain picture show up for a certain person for a certain time just for me to lift them up in prayer.  There has been times that I have talked to one of those person on the phone, and they will say, "you know, I was having a bad day, and all of a sudden it turned around for no reason at all."  I will laugh and then say thank you Lord for answering my prayer. So, I want to encourage all of you that do pray during the day, do not stop. Because you never know whose face God will put in your heart to pray for in their time of struggle or need.

Please always remember the importance of reverence and humility in prayer. Let us never forget who we are and what a solemn thing it is to speak with God. We must remember that when we pray we are on holy ground.

Also do not forget the importance of praying spiritually. We must labor to have the help of the Spirit in our prayers.

It is very importance of making prayer a regular business of our lives. Just as we give time each day to eating, sleeping, and work, so we ought to give time everyday to prayer. It is a good practice to speak with God before we speak with the world, and to speak with God at night when we are done with the world. Prayer should be one of the great parts of our day.

It is most important that you keep a  perseverance in prayer. If you have begun the habit never give it up. Your body will say, "I am to tired to pray today", your mind, "It has been a long day, skip just this once". Think and remember that these suggestions come straight from Satan. A Christian never finds he loses out, in the long run, by persevering in prayer. I remember a story I read once, I think it was of the Reformer Martin Luther. He had a long day before him, in speaking to a friend, his comment was, "I must rise extra early to pray".

Always be  earnestness in prayer. We should be hearty, fervent, and warm, and ask as if we are interested in what we are praying.

Praying in and by faith. We should cultivate the habit of expecting answers to our prayers. Robert Trail says, "There is no surer mark of trifling in prayer, than when men are careless what they get by prayer."

Be bold in prayer. It was said of Luther's prayers, "What spirit, what a confidence was in his very expressions! With such a reverence he sued, as one begging of God, and yet with such hope and assurance, as if he spake with a loving father or friend."

Fullness in prayer is very important. We are not likely in this day and age to be guilty of praying too long or too much. Our private times with God are often just enough to prove our spiritual life is existent. How many of us have so much fullness in our prayers that our cup is overflowing?

As you pray be particularity in prayer. We should specify our wants before the throne of grace and not be content with general petitions. It is not enough to confess we are sinners, we need to name and confess our sins. It is not enough to tell the Lord we are in trouble, we need to describe our trouble and all its peculiarities. This is what Jacob did when he feared his brother Esau (Genesis 32:11) Remember every and anything that has a name must fall under the Name and by the Blood of Jesus.

Have thankfulness in prayers. Asking of God is one thing, praising Him is quite another. George Whitfield was known to be running over with thankfulness in his prayers, let us be as well.

Lastly, but not lest remember the importance of watchfulness over your prayers. It is in prayer that true religion begins and here it flourishes, and here it decays. Prayer is a spiritual pulse, find out the state of some ones prayers and you have found out the state of their soul.

I offer these to you for your private consideration. The one person I know of who most needs to be reminded of these things is myself. May the times we live in be praying times and the Christians be praying Christians and may it be as it has historically been, when the faithful pray, God sends revival, which sadly has been absent from our nation since the revival of 1858.