Resolving to Pray

I know that Christmas hasn't even come and gone yet, but I can't help but think about what I will resolve to do in the new year. I could make quite a list--there is a lot that I should probably do differently as I move forward. But on the top of my list is to "beef up" my prayer life.

I am definitely guilty of praying my most sincere, deepest prayers when I reach some point of desperation about a difficult situation in my own life. I admit that my prayers of thanks are much shorter and uttered with less conviction. I pray these prayers often, but they don't have quite the punch that my prayers have when I am desperately asking the Lord for something.

And then there are my prayers for others. These, too, could use some more heart and power behind them. I've been thinking over the last few days of all the people on my prayer list at the moment. I have really been convicted about my prayers for them. Why am I not praying quite as desperately for these people as I pray for myself and my family in difficult situations?? At the moment I have a lengthy list of people who need those types of prayers.

I have a newborn niece who should actually still be comfortably hanging out in her mom's belly, but instead recently entered her second month of life in the NICU, still hooked up to a feeding tube and still being filled with medications for her numerous ailments. Still weighing in at under 5 lbs. Her parents were recently told that she will have to be hooked up to a heart monitor for 3 to 6 months after she goes home. She will also have to live in essential isolation for 6 months, only leaving the house for doctor's visits and restricting visitors to her home. Noah might not get to meet her until she is close to the age that he is now! I pray for her often, but am I praying enough? Her parents, my brother and sister-in-law, are struggling with how they will take care of her. How will they handle her many needs? How can they keep her at home for 6 months and still each earn a living to provide for her? They certainly need my prayers.

Then there are the others on my list. I have friends in dire financial situations. I have friends desperately trying to conceive a child. I have friends in struggling marriages. I have friends who fear they will soon lose their jobs. I have friends waiting for someone to share their life with, almost ready to give up. I have friends struggling with the pressures of motherhood. I have countless pregnant friends needing prayers for problem-free pregnancies, safe deliveries, and helathy babies.

Sure, I often lift these people up in prayer as I go about my day. But I spend shamefully little time in quiet, focused prayer for them. My vow moving forward is to make the time to pray for each of these people--and the others who will likely be added to the list--in just this way. When I tell someone "yes, I will pray for you!" I will not just utter a prayer in my next breath and then move on to the next thing on the to-do list. I want to pray for them with conviction, and to attempt to feel their need as if it were my own.

So that is my #1 resolution for the new year. Made slightly prematurely on December 20. Sorry for the overly serious post, but this is what was on my mind this morning and I felt the need to type it out and share it. I promise in my next post I'll return to lighter topics, and even include a picture or two :)