Single, but not alone

Prayer is something we give ourselves to

Do not keep silent,
O God of my praise!
2 For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful
Have opened against me;
They have spoken against me with a lying tongue.
3 They have also surrounded me with words of hatred,
And fought against me without a cause.
4 In return for my love they are my accusers,
But I give myself to prayer.  - Psalm 109:1-4 (NKJV)

When you study David's life, you'll discover that he was always evading something. He had many enemies. People didn't like him much. He was estranged from his own family. He had many problems. Sometimes we read the bible and think what is described is metaphoric and yet, what we read and study is more real than what we can even see with our eyes. 

Despite having many enemies and issues, David gave himself to prayer. My favorite verse in the whole chapter is the fourth verse. It's so powerful. Verse four cancels out everything else. The bible says, "In return for my love they are my accusers, But I give my self to prayer. " Why then did David want to pray? Because prayer brings deliverance. But notice the wording in this scripture. He doesn't say he'll pray, he says, " I will give myself to prayer." That statement carries a different meaning. It carries a different kind of weight. David said it in a way that sort of assures us that prayer does actually change things. Let's take a look at other examples.

The Apostles prayed like David 

Now in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplying, there arose a complaint against the Hebrews by the Hellenists,[] because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution. 2 Then the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, "It is not desirable that we should leave the word of God and serve tables. 3 Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business; 4 but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word." - Acts 6:1-4 (NKJV)

The Apostles had encountered an issue. It seemed that they neglected some other duties while pursuing God. Because you cannot do everything. When you are all out and full on in pursuing Jesus, some things you just won't have time for. But the Apostles were still thinking about their people and didn't want to abandon them at all. So they had a plan. The bible says, "seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business." 

While the other disciples sought the seven out, the Apostles gave themselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word. I like the wording again. You cannot give yourself to something that you do not enjoy. Praying just for the sake of praying doesn't bring much result. You have to have reasons to why you pray. If you do not believe in prayer, you won't pray much and perhaps you won't see much results. To pray with the faith that God will answer requires a different kind of attitude when seeking God in prayer. We have to give ourselves to prayer. Not for one week, but continually. 

Pray without ceasing 

pray without ceasing, - 1 Thessalonians 5:17 (NKJV)

This simply means to pray without stopping. We shouldn't go a day without talking to God. It's funny that we'd miss a day sometimes and not have communion with God and yet find a problem when our 'special somebody' doesn't call. Friends, to know God well, we need to have a prayer life. That's the only place where we can meet God. Of course, God is in the bible But what does bible reading do for a person that doesn't pray? Do you know what happens when we read the bible without prayer? We won't understand the revelations that are in the word of God. Prayer makes everything else work out. That is why Jesus always prayed. If you saw or read that Jesus was preaching, the day before or that morning, He prayed to His Father.