Godz Dancers: Sweet Hour of Prayer

Hello all,

Tabitha of the blog "Godz Dancers" posted a challenge that really convicted me and I thought should be passed on here.

Sweet Hour of Prayer

Sweet hour of prayer, sweet hour of prayer
that calls me from a world of care.
And bids me at my Father's throne
make all my wants and wishes known!

In seasons of distress and grief
my soul has often found relief.
And oft escaped the tempter's snare
by thy return, sweet hour of prayer.

This summer I learned what an hour of prayer can do. It can clear a cluttered mind, bring peace to a stormy heart, and direction to a wayward soul. It is no wonder William Walford called it 'sweet hour of prayer' for after spending three score minutes in the Saviour's presence, or simply listening to His voice, one does not want to leave for the sweetness he has tasted. We ought to make an appointment with the Lord on our knees, and keep it. If we do not set aside the specific time for prayer we will rarely get around to praying at all.

Our lives are busy, I know. At this moment I can think of five or six things I could be doing, but if I were honest I could do nothing more effective or productive then spending this hour in prayer. To what avail are the tasks of life in comparison to communion with the Saviour?

Lord, may I thirst for thy fellowship, and thine alone, and may I increasingly discipline myself to spend 'sweet hours in prayer.'

Sweet hour of prayer, sweet hour of prayer
thy wings shall my petition bear
to Him whose truth and faithfulness
engage thy waiting soul to bless

And since He bids me seek His face,
believe His Word, and trust His grace
I'll cast on Him my every care
and wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer.

Sweet hour of prayer, sweet hour of prayer
may I thy consolation share?
Till from Mount Pisgah's lofty height
I view my home and take my flight

This robe of flesh I'll drop and rise
to seize the everlasting prize.
And shout, while passing through the air,
"Farewell, farewell, sweet hour of prayer!"

If we are honest, most of us probably (certainly) do not give the priority to prayer that we ought. That indicates how few of us desire to fellowship with the Lord as much as we think and say we do. Our desire for Him is reflected in our devotion to Him in all aspects of life. God doesn't demand perfect, but He does expect devotion and prayer is a good gauge of a person’s devotion to Him.

If I'm honest, prayer has always been a weak area in my life. However, it's strange that I should struggle in this area because, like Tabitha, when I've been faithful in prayer the fruit of that faithfulness has been very apparent. You would think the fruit I've seen would prompt me to faithfully pursue it. But, Satan and the flesh both cry out against communion with God and the pressure to do something other than prayer will always be great.

Most of us almost surely have much more time available to devote to prayer and meditation, it's just a matter of really and truly desiring to do so, and I'm speaking to myself first and foremost.

I challenge each of you reading this post to devote yourself to prayer, and I commit myself (Mark) to doing the same.

Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving (Colossians 4:2)

God bless!