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

If I could choose one thing to be great at, or even one thing to be better at, it would be prayer.

Maybe that’s a reflection of how important I believe prayer to be in the Christian life. But if I’m honest, it also reflects my disappointment at my own lack of prayerfulness – my well-meaning plans that so often fail to produce action. And I’m not exactly going out on a limb here, but I doubt I’m the only one who wishes he was a better, more faithful pray-er.

With that in mind, I’d like to invite you to join me in the month of August for ’31 Days Of Prayer’.

Each day in August, I’ll post a short reflection (somewhere around 500 words; sometimes more, sometimes less) on prayer: a Bible verse or two relating to prayer, some comments on those verses, a quote or two on prayer, and a really short prayer that you can use as your own.

Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 | Day 8 | Day 9 | Day 10 | Day 11 | Day 12 | Day 13 | Day 14 | Day 15 | Day 16 | Day 17 | Day 18 | Day 19 | Day 20 | Day 21 | Day 22 | Day 23 | Day 24 | Day 25 | Day 26 | Day 27 | Day 28 | Day 29 | Day 30 | Day 31

I’m hoping and praying that God will use this month to not only grow my understanding of what the Bible says about prayer, but also that he will take that knowledge and use it to make me more prayerful. My prayer is also that he might do the same for you, and for many others. If you’ve got the whole praying thing nailed (!), I’d still love you to follow along during the month – it can’t hurt to spend a little more time reflecting on prayer, and you might like to share these posts with others to encourage their prayerfulness.

Any attempt to reflect on the place of prayer in your life probably requires a high degree of bravery. After all, if you’re anything like me, you know what it’s like to live with the frustration and guilt of good intentions that go nowhere. Maybe it’s easier to just not think about praying. But don’t allow fear or guilt to stop you from even trying. If anything is worth some effort, surely it’s prayer. After all, “Whether we like it or not, asking is the rule of the Kingdom. If you may have everything by asking in his name, and nothing without asking, I beg you to see how absolutely vital prayer is.” (Charles Spurgeon)

If you’d like to follow along every day, the easiest ways are to subscribe by entering your email address on the home page, or Like Every Though Captive on Facebook. Obviously you can just pop in occasionally throughout the month, if you prefer. However you choose to be part of it, I hope and pray that ’31 Days of Prayer’ grows your love for prayer, and your prayerfulness.

A Prayer
Loving Heavenly Father, thank you for the privilege of prayer. Please grow me in my knowledge of what your word teaches about prayer, and please grow my prayerfulness in all things. In Jesus’ name. Amen.