Our Daily Bread: Finding Comfort in Times of Loss Sample

Is It Time To Pray? When people face trials, they often turn to prayer only as a last resort. I knew a man who was fighting a valiant battle with cancer. As people observed the gradual effect on his body and lifestyle, one person said, “Well, they’ve tried everything else. I guess it’s time to begin praying.” Another man was going through an extremely difficult time at work. It was a crisis of major proportions that had ominous implications for him and for the future of his company. He just couldn’t resolve it. Finally he said, “I’ve tried everything I know to get through this situation and nothing has worked. It’s time to start praying.” In both of these instances, prayer was seen as a last-ditch effort to resolve the problem. Only after all other options were eliminated did the person decide to pray. It was a desperate “grasping at straws.” Instead of prayer being a last resort, it should be one of the first things we do. The Lord answers prayer, and He wants us to come to Him continually with all of our needs (1 THESSALONIANS 5:17). The Bible tells us to “be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer . . . let your requests be made known to God” (PHILIPPIANS 4:6). So don’t wait. It’s always time to pray. —Dave Egner Prayer should be our first response rather than our last resort.