Diligent in Prayer

“Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer.”
children prayer list

Romans 12:11-12

These verses describe my father better than I can. He wasn’t perfect…but he sought to love the Lord with all His heart and ran the race before him with tenacity and zeal. Everything he did was 110%. He was faithful and diligent. One of the many areas I admired his diligence in was his prayer life. He had a page or pages full of scripture he used to pray through for every day of the week. He labored diligently in prayer for his wife, his children, every individual that attended the church body he was an elder of, the men he spent weekly time in the word with, and countless others. Almost every morning of my life, I watched him sitting quietly as he read the scriptures carefully taking notes, reviewing cards with verses written on them, and sipping coffee for a couple hours…and then as time allowed he would often take his notebook and tell us, “I’m going to go talk to the Lord about some things” and would slip away, disappearing in the morning fog as he strolled down the road or through his orchard. And there he spent time crying to the Lord to meet his own needs and the needs of so many others. He would tell us that he never spent enough time in the word or praying, and I know that’s true because he wasn’t perfect, but he spent more time than most, and his life and others were a testament to it. My daddy never got much sleep…selflessly taking care of, loving, and encouraging his wife, 13 children, grandchildren, and only Jesus knows how many other souls. But it didn’t matter to him. He diligently rose early every morning to read and pray before all else. I’m so thankful for his humble example. And the blessings beyond measure that I as his child, have received because of it.

 

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