A Life of Prayer
This is an audio recording of A Mindset of Humility the Day 1 entry in Today for Seafarers (Vol. 1) devotional by Jason Zuidema.
Listen to the audio by Sheila Margerrison or read the text below:
“When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to
pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be
seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward
in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door
and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who
sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray,
do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be
heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for
your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
“This, then, is how you should pray:
“‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom
come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us
today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also
have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.’”
Prayer is an important part of the life of all Christians. However, we don’t always know how to pray. Many seafarers might be faithful in prayer at home, but perhaps not so faithful on the ship. Often, a main reason why we stop our prayers is that we don’t know how to pray.
The most common prayers are our requests to God for health and protection for ourselves and our families. But that is just one part of prayer, and it’s not necessarily the most important.
I once had the privilege of praying with a seafarer who had significant problems—his luggage had been lost by the airline bringing him to the ship, he had health problems that could potentially end his work as a seaman, and his workload was significantly more than he had on other ships.
Before praying with him, I asked him what his requests for prayer were. I expected him to pray for these things. But his response was surprising: “I want to pray that I become more and more like Jesus.” He explained that these other challenges and problems were very important, but his greatest need was to simply be more like Jesus.
This man understood what it was like to look for Christ’s kingdom in his life. He knew that whether he was at home or on a ship, there was nowhere he could go that would be far from Christ’s life-changing grace. I learned a lesson that day: this seafarer reminded me that our prayers ought to focus on what is most important—seeking the kingdom of God.
For Further Thought
Why is it sometimes so difficult to pray?
Have you ever been surprised to find yourself praying to God in a difficult situation?
What are your most important requests of God?
Prayer
Dear God, you are perfect. I am so weak. Forgive me for looking after my own needs before thinking about you. Help me to make you central in my life. Give me more of the joy that your children have. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
