Moments with my First Love [UNDER REVISION]

MOMENT 20: PRAYER

Life gets busy, doesn't it? 

Before we even realize it, we've already spent hours working, studying, replying to messages, scrolling through social media, or thinking about everything we need to accomplish. Then, at the end of the day, we suddenly remember, "Lord... I haven't even talked to You today." Has that ever happened to you? O baka minsan, hindi naman sa nakalimutan mong mag-pray. You just kept telling yourself, "Mamaya na lang." Until that "mamaya" became tomorrow, and tomorrow became another busy day. Little by little, without even noticing it, our conversations with God become shorter while our conversations with the world become longer.

The truth is, every relationship grows through communication. We make time for the people we love because we want to know them more. Gano'n din ang relationship natin kay Lord. Prayer isn't simply a Christian routine or another item to check off our daily schedule. It's where our hearts reconnect with the One who gives us life. Because the moment we stop talking to God, we slowly stop being aware of His presence—not because He has left us, but because we've become occupied with everything else.

That's why prayer is never just about asking God for something. It's about staying connected to Him.

Prayer keeps you connected to God. The moment our prayer life begins to weaken, our connection with Him slowly weakens too. God never moves away from us but many times, we stop drawing near to Him. That's why the enemy doesn't always begin by convincing us to abandon our faith. Sometimes he simply convinces us that we're "too busy" to pray today. One missed prayer becomes two. Two become a week. Before we notice it, we still call ourselves Christians, but we've become strangers to the secret place. 

No wonder Jesus often withdrew to lonely places to pray (Luke 5:16). If the Son of God, who lived in perfect fellowship with the Father, intentionally made time for prayer, how much more do we need it? Prayer was never a religious obligation for Jesus. It was where He found strength before ministry, peace before suffering, wisdom before choosing His disciples, and surrender before the cross.

Paul reminds us in Colossians 4:2–4, "Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful..." That word devote speaks of consistency, not convenience. 

Prayer isn't something we do only when life falls apart. It is how we remain connected to the One who holds our lives together. Actually, Paul wrote these words while he was in prison. Imagine that? If anyone had a reason to focus on his own suffering, it was Paul. Yet instead of asking people to pray only for his freedom, he asked them to pray that he would continue preaching Christ with boldness. Grabeng heart 'yon! This shows a heart that is deeply connected to God has slowly stops revolving around itself and begins revolving around God's Kingdom. Prayer changes not only our circumstances, it changes what matters most to us!

PRAYING TO KEEP ALERT

One thing Paul specifically mentioned was to KEEP ALERT. It means to be watchful against danger and to make aware of. Sa definition pa lang, marerealize natin that prayer has an enemy. The devil knows he cannot stop a sovereign God, but he will do everything he can to stop a believer from praying! 

If he cannot make you deny Christ, he'll try to distract you from spending time with Christ. Isn't it interesting that we can spend hours on our phones without noticing the time, but five minutes of prayer sometimes feels difficult? The battle often begins long before we fold our hands. It begins in the small distractions that slowly steal our attention from God.

We need to keep alert in every area of our lives:

A. Physically

The enemy knows that an exhausted body can easily become a distracted body. Of course, not every tiredness comes from spiritual attack. We are human, and our bodies genuinely need rest. Even Jesus slept after a long day of ministry, and there were moments when He invited His disciples to rest (Mark 6:31). But there are also times when exhaustion quietly becomes an excuse that keeps us from seeking God.