Prayer
“ In whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him.” Ephesians 3:12
If you’re anything like me, prayer can sometimes be a little daunting. It’s so much easier to call your best friend every day or chat to your mom on the way home from school than to pray without ceasing like the Bible tells us to do.
At camp we make a point of praying upwards of six times a day! That may sound like a lot, but from meals to evening programs to devotions, prayer just becomes a natural rhythm of our routine. It’s something we’re committed to, and something that contributes to the Christ-centered spirit everyone at camp can feel. But what happens when you go home? How often do you quiet your mind to rest in the presence of your Savior? For that matter, how do you even say hello to the God who made the stars?
Ephesians 3:12 is the verse I return to time after time when I forget to pray, or can’t figure out how to talk to God, or just feel unqualified to talk to the King of the world. Here we see that because of Jesus’ sacrifice for us, we don’t have to be intimidated by talking to God. You can approach Him with freedom because He already knows everything you’re about to tell Him.
We can openly talk to Him about our sins and mistakes and regrets because no matter how much we’ve messed up, it’s not going to come as a shock to the God who sees all. Even more encouraging is the fact that we can approach Him with confidence because even though we’ve all messed up more times than we can count, His love for us is greater still.
Because of His love for you, and because of what Jesus did on the cross, your identity as His beloved daughter is secure. You can be confident talking to Him in prayer because you know that He delights in you, that He likes you and He loves you. In fact, prayer is the natural response to knowing that the God of the universe loves you like this! It makes you want to praise Him and honor Him and worship Him in everything you do – to really pray without ceasing.
That’s one of the best parts about our God. He doesn’t require us to dress up and get our act together in order to come into His presence. We can come to Him just as we are, with all of our messiness and mistakes, and know we will be welcomed into His embrace.
You can pray while brushing your teeth or driving to school or just any moment of the day when you feel thankful or joyful or anxious or uncertain. Just as we do at camp, you can make prayer a constant part of your daily routine. It can be a part that you get excited about, because you can come to Him just as you are, and experience His great love.