I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling.     1 Timothy 2:8 ESV

In these days of social media, the term going viral refers to something becoming wildly popular or being shared, liked or viewed by thousands or even millions in a short period of time.

Sadly, today we have people so focused on things like the presidential election and a host of other thing, but how much time and effort do we put into our prayer life.

What impact would it have on our nation if all us Christians would make the effort to daily fall down on their knees and pray for this country? What if we stopped criticizing the candidates and started to pray for godly candidates? What if we prayed for the candidates God has put in place?

We often pray or ask for prayer in times of illness or some other catastrophe. I have seen prayer go viral in these cases and I think that’s great. I sometimes feel there are so many things I should pray for but fail to do so. In all honesty, sometimes I simply forget.  This is why I enjoyed the way the woman prayed in the movie War Room. Our prayer should be intentional. It should be passionate and intense. I like the fact that she was so intentional with her prayer and kept records.

James said in chapter 5, verse 16, “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”  Colossians 4:2 tells us to continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.” Romans 12:12 tells us to rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, and be constant in prayer.

If we prayed more than we scrolled, posted, liked and commented, I think we could see a change. I think we could make a difference through prayer. We have to understand that when we pray, we must be in God’s will. We can only be in God’s will when we surrender our lives to Him.

I’ve seen prayer go viral and it’s an awesome thing. I’ve seen God work miracles.

We need to understand the awesome privilege that prayer is for us. We can talk to Jesus. He is our intercessor with God the Father. We should never forget what a privilege we have with being able to go to Him in this way.

We also need to understand the power of prayer. The Creator of the universe is the recipient of our prayers. He who has the power to create light and to control the weather and calm the seas hears our prayer.

We need also to understand the importance of our submission to Him. Our sin builds a barrier to our prayer (Isaiah 59:2). When we are surrendered to God and in His will, the Bible tells us our prayers will be answered. When we pray that things be done according to God’s will, we can be assured they will.

This world has lots of distractions to keep us from studying our Bible and praying, but these distractions have side effects like anger, anxiety and negativity. They can’t offer the peace and comfort we can receive through prayer and Bible study.

Trust in God. Don’t be overly concerned with the things of this world. They are all passing away. Stick with His word which never passes away and pray continually. You can’t go wrong there.

Be intentional with your prayer and don’t be afraid to spread the word when others are in need. Maybe we can cause prayer to go viral. Wouldn’t that be a great infection to spread?

Have a great day!