TUESDAY 6th DECEMBER 1983

PRAYER IS ESSENTIAL

Reading:  Mark 1:35    English - Katty Chinese - Monica

"And in the morning, a great while before day, he rose up and went out, and departed into a desert place, and there prayed"

COMMENTARY - Vera

Some Christians are too busy. It is true that their busyness is concerned with what they consider to be the affairs of the Kingdom of God, and they become involved in numerous meetings and often neglect their own homes and loved ones to serve what they consider to be the cause of Christ.

Such busyness is often a disguised attempt to fill a spiritual vacuum; an effort to prove to God and your fellowmen where your loyalty and devotion lies. Jesus Christ does not ask that you become feverishly active in His service, nor attempt to meet all the demands made upon you in His Name, but by example and precept He emphasises the necessity of prayer. You cannot fulfil your spiritual destiny without practising the art and ministry of prayer. An aeroplane travels at high speeds often under difficult conditions, but it could not do so safely and effectively without the meticulous care and preparation of the ground crew. You can be very busy for the Master, but unless your busyness is undergirded by the practise of prayer you run the risk of a breakdown within your spiritual life.

You fly around without sufficient preparation and eventually the strain shows and something snaps.

Prayer is the incentive and inspiration of Christian service; it aives the ring of truth to all you attempt in the Master's Name, and gives you a sense of deep satisfaction which you cannot receive from any other source.

NEWS

PRAYER (say together)

Lord, may prayer be the basis and inspiration of the service we offer You.
In Jesus' Name we pray.  A-men