Do I care enough to pray?

I seem to have far more willingness to worry about things than to pray about them. This may be typical of many or even most Christians or maybe just me, but worrying does seem to come much more naturally than prayer. I worry about how my children do in school, I worry about their relationship with God, I worry about family finances, I worry about the future of my church and I worry that my spiritual walk falls far short. The order of these worries is not necessarily how I rate their importance, but these are no doubt some of my frequent worries.

There are three questions I could ask regarding these worries. First are they important enough to warrant my concern? The answer is yes, each of these areas are important, worth caring about, and requires some action on my part.

Next, I must consider how I should best deal with these valid concerns, what actions should I take?

Surely I should hold my children accountable for doing their school work. I should praise their successes, encourage/help them in their weaknesses, and give consequences when they show deliberate unwillingness to take care of their business.

I should encourage my children in their relationship with God. I need to live out my faith in a real way so they see Christianity not hypocrisy. I should teach them the scriptures and encourage them to study for themselves. Trying to help them see life through a Biblical worldview is also beneficial and something that they may struggle to do on their own.

I need to be a good steward of my family finances. I should seek to earn a fair wage for my work and not live beyond my means. Seeing everything as God's property is very helpful for keeping the right heart when it comes to stewardship as well.

I need to participate in and love my church as God calls me to. It is easy to complain about what isn't right and worry about what will happen if things don't change, but the reality is God is much more powerful than I am. Even if I do everything as best I can, there are infinite ways for things to go wrong and the truth is I often miss the mark of even my own plans. It is especially hard to control outcomes when others are involved and we all may have different plans and outcomes in mind.

Obviously, I need to spend quality time with God if I am going to walk in a manner worthy of the calling I have as in Christ. Reading God's word and spending time in prayer are certainly the foundation of success in this area. God will show me where I need change and remind me of the great depth of His love and grace as I interact with Him through the word and prayer.

The third question I need to answer regarding these important concerns is what do I do first?

When I think about it, I know I won't have the best information if I don't spend much time in God's word. If I do spend time in God's word it will certainly remind me of His power, wisdom and willingness to act on behalf of His children. With that said, if I really care about how things will turn out my time is well spent asking the one with all power to intervene!!!

I can talk about important things, worry about important things, and even do my best to fix important things, but if I really care I should pray first and most that God would work in the important things!