The Prayer Reflex

Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise.  Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord.  And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. James 5:13-16

When are you compelled to pray?

I had a moment in church that will forever burn in my heart. As I sat in the service next to my 6-year-old daughter, I watched her color away on the packet provided for kids during the service. Then, as she was deeply concentrating on staying within the lines, the pastor called the congregation to bow for prayer. In an instant, she laid her crayon down, folded her hands, and bowed her head. That was the moment I realized prayer was a reflex.

What triggers prayer in my own heart? My mind jumped to the book of James. A neat list of prayer triggers is carefully spelled out. On that list, you’ll see things like trouble, happiness, illness, and sin. James would have seen his brother Jesus’ prayer life. I would imagine those images of Jesus praying were in his mind as he wrote. As I began to think about my prayer life, I realized that I had a prayer reflex, like my daughter, but never took the time to think about it. And as I contemplated the situations that instinctively led me to prayer, I knew I could train a more responsive prayer reflex.

Becoming God’s man means training every last reflex, including your prayer reflex.

DO THIS TODAY: Reflect on what drives you to prayer and push yourself to pray in one way that is not routine.