Weekly Devotional: September 30, 2026
DEVOTIONAL
by Major Rick Raymer
Territorial Pastor To Former Officers/Spiritual Life Development Resource Officer
GOD’S WORD
“Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.” II Chronicles 7:14 (NLT)
DEVOTIONAL
“Prayer Should Not Be An Option”
William Booth once said, “Work as if everything depended upon work and pray as if everything depended upon prayer.”
Mother Teresa was interviewed by a reporter who asked: “You love people whom others regard as human debris. What is your secret?“— Mother Teresa responded, “My secret is simple. I pray.”
Billy Graham once said, “True prayer is a way of life, not just for use in cases of emergency. Make it a habit, and when the need arises, you will be in practice.”
Catherine Booth believed that prayer and time with God should be a top priority in life. She emphasized that people should be willing to sacrifice sleep and social activities to make time for prayer.
PRAYER SHOULD NOT BE AN OPTION
When God’s people pray, things begin to change. And when God’s Army comes together in prayer, we can trust that He is at work among us. Friends, our world is carrying so much hurt, and perhaps one reason is that we, as born-again believers, do not always pray as faithfully as we could and, for that matter, as we should. I personally believe that “Prayer Should Not Be An Option!” If we call ourselves Christians, then look to Jesus, who graciously shows us the way: He not only taught us how to pray, but lived a life of prayer before us.
In Matthew 6:9–13, Jesus gives us the prayer we commonly call the Lord’s Prayer. It begins, “Our Father who art in Heaven. Hallowed be thy name.” Then, in the first part of verse twelve, we pray, “And forgive us our sins.” I have sometimes thought of these words as the Disciples’ Prayer, since Jesus Himself had no sin for which He needed forgiveness. In John 17, we are invited to listen as Jesus pours out His own heart to the Father: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son so he can give glory back to you.” Later, in verse nine, He says, “My prayer is not for the world, but for those you have given me, because they belong to you.”
Whether we call Matthew 6 the Lord’s Prayer or the Disciples’ Prayer is not the most important thing. What matters is the loving invitation at its heart: God teaches us to pray, and He welcomes us into fellowship with Him. Again and again, Jesus shows us what that life of prayer looks like—not only in these passages, but also in the words He prayed while suffering on the cross.
PRAYER SHOULD NOT BE AN OPTION
“Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34) “My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34)“Father, into Thy hands I commit My spirit.” (Luke 23:46)
There is no question that Jesus was a man of prayer. He regularly drew near to His Father for direction, strength, and power to carry out the Father’s will. Luke tells us that Jesus “often withdrew to lonely places and prayed” (Luke 5:16). Mark gives us another tender glimpse of this rhythm: “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed” (Mark 1:35). At times, Jesus even spent the whole night with the Father: “Jesus climbed a mountain and prayed all night” (Luke 6:12).
If prayer held such an important place in the life of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, then surely it deserves a central place in our lives as well. What a gracious invitation we have to draw near to the Father, just as Jesus did.
As I searched for information about prayer, I came across several surveys describing the prayer lives of pastors, officers, and ministers of the gospel. One reported an average of only seven minutes a day; another said that 80% of the pastors surveyed prayed for less than 15 minutes a day; and the most generous estimate was 37 minutes. We should receive figures like these with humility, not with judgment.
PRAYER SHOULD NOT BE AN OPTION
Ministry can be demanding, and spiritual leaders need our prayers and encouragement too. Yet these numbers can still prompt each of us to pause and ask: Am I making room to be with the Lord? Even 37 minutes a day adds up to only about 9½ days over a year. This is not an invitation to compare or condemn, but to consider together how God may be calling His whole Army—leaders and lay leaders alike—into a deeper, steadier life of prayer.
Perhaps prayer feels difficult because life is busy, our minds wander, or we are unsure of what to say. But prayer does not have to be polished or complicated. When God’s people pray, our Heavenly Father listens with love. He is ready to meet us, guide us, and respond according to His good will. Hallelujah! So let me ask you gently: Has He heard from you lately? If not, there is no shame—only an open invitation to begin again today.
2 Chronicles 7:12-18 (NLT) says:
12 Then one night the Lord appeared to Solomon and said, “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this Temple as the place for making sacrifices. 13 At times I might shut up the heavens so that no rain falls, or command grasshoppers to devour your crops, or send plagues among you. 14 Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land. 15 My eyes will be open and my ears attentive to every prayer made in this place. 16 For I have chosen this Temple and set it apart to be holy—a place where my name will be honored forever. I will always watch over it, for it is dear to my heart. 17 “As for you, if you faithfully follow me as David your father did, obeying all my commands, decrees, and regulations, 18 then I will establish the throne of your dynasty. For I made this covenant with your father, David, when I said, ‘One of your descendants will always rule over Israel.’"
I love this book, nestled between I Chronicles and Ezra, but in particular, this verse found in II Chronicles 7:14, a couple of verses before and three verses after, basically says that the Spirit of God appeared and started talking to Solomon. “I heard your prayer in your Temple, and I have chosen to set it apart as holy. This Temple will be the place where My Name will be honored forever because it has a precious place in My heart.