“Your Word Is Truth”
Do You Give Priority to Prayer?
PRIORITY is defined as “coming before in order of importance; a preferential position allotted to anything which gives it first claim to the necessary resources.” During World War II the term “priority” was used a great deal; all industries that were vital to the war effort were given priority.
To give priority to prayer, then, means to recognize its importance. It means to make time for it by taking time from other things of less importance.
Today Christian ministers often hear the complaint that people are too busy even to listen to the message of God’s kingdom. But are all these people actually too busy to listen to a short Bible sermon? By no means, if they had the desire! It is all a matter of what they think is most important for them. Many give entertainment priority because they are “lovers of pleasures rather than lovers of God.”—2 Tim. 3:4.
Herein lies a lesson for the dedicated Christian when it comes to prayer. If you are a dedicated Christian, you, of course, know that you should make time for prayer; that you should take time to pray before each meal; that you should begin and end each day with prayer to your Maker as well as pray at other times. But do you always do so? Or do you find yourself going to work in the morning without first having taken time to talk to God, to thank him for the night’s rest, for the light of another day, and for all the blessings that lie before you, spiritually as well as materially, not to say anything about asking God for wisdom and strength for the day and his blessing upon the interests of his work world wide?
True, in getting ready for work there are certain things that simply must be done: bathing or washing up, grooming one’s hair and perhaps shaving; having a bite to eat and getting off in time to catch the bus—you know it does not wait. These things are essential if one is to “provide fine things in the sight of all men.” (Rom. 12:17) Doing these necessary things day after day, you know by now how long they take. So could you not get up a little earlier to allow some time each morning for talking with God and for at least a brief consideration of the Bible text for the day and its comment as published in the Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses? Doing so, you would be heeding the apostle’s advice to be “buying out the opportune time for yourselves, because the days are wicked.”—Eph. 5:16.
Jesus Christ, the perfect Son of God, when upon the earth appreciated the value and need of prayer. The Gospels tell us that at the time of his baptism he prayed, that he spent whole nights in prayer, and that he repeatedly prayed on the last day of his earthly ministry. And he taught his followers how to pray and urged them, “Keep on the watch and pray continually.”—Matt. 26:41.
What this matter of giving priority all comes down to is being conscious of our spiritual needs. (Matt. 5:3) We need to talk to God daily. ‘In all our ways we need to acknowledge him, in order to have his direction for our paths.’ (Prov. 3:5, 6) We must continually bear in mind the principle given at Psalm 127:1: “Unless Jehovah himself builds the house, it is to no avail that its builders have worked hard on it. Unless Jehovah himself guards the city, it is to no avail that the guard has kept awake.” Yes, we continually need to be aware of the fact that ‘our times are in the hand of God.’—Ps. 31:15.
Prayer is the best way for us to keep close to Jehovah God, our Maker, our Life-giver, our Sustainer and our Judge. By prayer we can be aided to walk modestly with our God. (Mic. 6:8) To the extent that we “persevere in prayer,” to that extent Jehovah God will be near to us. (Rom. 12:12; 1 Thess. 5:17) And to that extent We will be strengthened in two of the most vital aspects of our Christian lives. What are they?
On the one hand, the closer we live to Jehovah God by prayer, the more we will fear to displease him. That fear is the beginning of wisdom, for it will help us to depart from evil, yes, it will strengthen us to resist temptation. And on the other hand, the closer we live to Jehovah God, the more we will get to know and love him and the more zeal we will have for the keeping of his commandments, for that is what the love of God means, even as the apostle John shows.—Prov. 8:13; 9:10; 1 John 5:2, 3.
If we do indeed give our prayers to Jehovah priority over other matters, then we will have time to include praise and thanksgiving, and not limit them just to asking things of God. The psalms furnish us good examples in this respect, for while, strictly speaking, they are songs, many of them are also, in essence, prayers of praise and thanksgiving as well as petitions.
For example, Psalm 136 commands us: “Give thanks to Jehovah, O you people, for he is good: for his loving-kindness is to time indefinite; give thanks to the God of the gods . . . give thanks to the Lord of the lords. . . . Give thanks to the God of the heavens.”—Ps. 136:1-3, 26.
And in coming to Jehovah God with petitions, requests and supplications, let us never be so bold that we find ourselves demanding or commanding God. Never let us be found preaching or lecturing to Him. No, we are beggars, and our attitude must be the same as that of Jesus, who said: “Not as I will, but as you will.”—Matt. 26:39.
If we give our prayers priority we will be able to present our petitions with reasons for God to grant our request. This may be because his name is involved, or because we know that he is a God that delights in mercy, justice and loving-kindness. (Ex. 34:6, 7; Dan. 9:16-19) Or we can beg forgiveness due to our having inherited sin from our parents, even as did King David.—Ps. 51:1-5.
And when praying let us use choice words and language, remembering to whom we are talking—to the Most High, the Sovereign Ruler of the universe. Recognizing this fact will also cause us to come to him in real humility and with the greatest possible respect. And in making our requests let us never “say the same things over and over again,” as do people who do not believe the Bible.—Matt. 6:7.
Neither should we be like the old man who prayed: “God bless me and my wife, my son John and his wife; us four and no more.” No, but let us take in the largest scope. We want to pray for the sanctification of God’s name, for the coming of his kingdom, and for his will to be done on earth. And we also want to remember the welfare of ‘the entire association of our brothers’ throughout the world.—1 Pet. 5:9; Matt. 6:9, 10.
If we recognize that what God’s Word says is truth, we will give priority to prayer, we will never neglect it. We will make our prayers as inclusive as they should be and couch them in the fine words they deserve.