Billy Graham once told the story about a young president of a company who instructed his secretary not to disturb him because he had an important appointment. The chairman of the board came in and said, “I want to see Mr. Jones.” The secretary answered, “I’m terribly sorry but, he cannot be disturbed; he has an important appointment. The chairman of the board became very angry. He banged open the door and saw the young president of his corporation on his knees in prayer. The chairman softly closed the door and asked the secretary, “Is this usual?” And she said, “Yes, he does that every morning.” To which the chairman of the board responded, “No wonder I come to him for advice.”In Colossians 4:2, the Apostle Paul said – “Devote yourself to prayer.”Without a doubt, the New Testament church was serious about prayer.  Devote yourself to prayer – this is what God is saying to us.  We should pray with consistency.  Prayer is not infrequent and it’s not something we do hit and miss.  Being “devoted to “ prayer means that you and I are not haphazard about this.  We take steps to see that it is part of your regular life, the same way eating and sleeping are.I believe many of us hear the Holy Spirit speaking to our hearts, calling for us to draw nearer to God.  I believe God is speaking to us, wanting intimacy with us – wanting us to have a close relationship with Him.  Prayer is the means by which we communicate with God and build a close relationship with him.  This is not about salvation by works – we understand that we are saved by grace.  This message is about you and I making new commitments to draw closer to God through making prayer a consistent part of our lives.The truth is – you have no relationship without communication.  The goal of any serious relationship is intimacy, closeness.  Do you and I want to be close to God?  Do we want to know him more?  Do we want to experience his presence, his power, and his victory?  Do we want to hear his voice?  This all comes through prayer.We must establish prayer as a priority in our lives. Have you noticed how difficult it is to set and maintain priorities in life?  Everything can’t be a priority.  We have to make some decisions.  We can’t focus on everything or do everything. We have to choose.Think about this…the God we serve has all power. There is nothing he cannot do. But God loves to be asked. He loves it when we come to him in prayer. It’s his desire and his will that you and I would do so.Let these truths behind prayer strengthen your resolve to pray this year. This can be a year of tremendous growth in your relationship with God. We stand on the truth of God’s Word that says if we “draw near to God, he will draw near to us.”Let me leave you with this quote from E.M. Bounds, “What the Church needs today is not more machinery, not new organizations, or more novel methods, but men whom the Holy Ghost can use­, men of prayer, men mighty in prayer.  The Holy Ghost does not flow through methods, but through men.  He does not anoint plans, but men of prayer.”Today’s Challenge: Decide when and where you will pray. If you are new to prayer, just begin to share your heart with God. If you can talk, you can pray. Let’s bring our needs to God, but let’s also listen for his voice.

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