This morning I was reading in a daily devotional about a new family that moved into an area and the first thing they started doing when they got there was they started to pray.

The gathered the names of each of their new neighbors and began to pray for them. They prayed that they (the new family) could shine the light of Christ to their new neighbors.

They prayed for the needs, that they didn’t even know about yet, that each of their neighbors faced.

They prayed that each of their neighbors could be aware of God’s presence and light in their life. They prayed that each of  their neighbors could be drawn closer to God.

And I was immediately convicted by the Holy Spirit when I read this. Because I don’t do that enough.  I don’t pray for my neighbors as I ought. And the question is, as we talked about at Asbury this past Sunday, who is my neighbor?

Everyone we meet.

And as I read this, I was inspired.  What a powerful thing that each of us has access to, and we don’t use like we ought.  Daily, we have the chance to pray for others. Wow.

Listen how Paul instructs Timothy in 1 Timothy:

I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.

God wants everyone to be saved. Everyone.  And He wants to use us to accomplish that great mission.

And that mission starts with prayer.  Praying for our neighbors. Praying for our co workers. Praying for the people that we meet daily.

But I’ve let myself get so busy, I forget sometimes to do that.

How about you?  Have we let ourselves get too busy to pray? Sometimes we get so involved with what is before us, we forget to do what is most important.

Today, with the tasks set before us, let’s not get to busy to pray. There are folks all around us in need of prayer. May we take the time to notice. And may we take the time to pray.