Very often when you start praying all thoughts fly away somewhere and it’s hard to concentrate on what you pray for. Why does it happen? We were thinking about this problem at the last prayer seminar, which was held in Zalesye in the end of March. The representatives of five churches of our union (Association of Bible Missionary Churches of Ukraine) came there. We were so glad to see each other. Zdolbunov, Sarny, Ivano-Frankivsk and Kiev came together to meditate on prayer. Pastor Igor Plyva prepared a wonderful material that made us start thinking.
But the question remains. Why is it hard to pray? The answer is very simple, we often approach this spiritual practice without thinking. In the first epistle to Corinthians, chapter 14 says that we must pray with our mind, that is, think about what we pray for. Then it will be easier to concentrate. Maybe this is not the answer you expected, but this is what the Scripture tells us. It’s like in a conversation with a person, you need to think about what you are talking about. Only if you fulfill this condition a dialogue is possible. When we come to prayer thoughtfully it also helps us to grow spiritually, because we understand God’s promises and His will better. This fills our hearts with the desire to pray for the church, missionaries, friends, for ourselves and relatives, for the country and the government.
This seminar also differed from the previous ones because it was on the eve of the elections. We prayed that God would send us the ruler that we deserve and that we could then accept him as from God.
It was a pity that these days flew by so quickly. The seminar is always filled with joy, love and care. It is very interesting that brothers and sisters of different ages take part in the seminar, but the Holy Spirit unites all of us into His one big family, where everyone has a place and everyone is comfortable. We share joys and worries with each other. Thanks to the seminars we learn how to pray correctly and deliberately.
Every time we pray for those churches from our union that could not come and feel, even for a while, the unity that will be in eternity.
Ira Plyva
