Wednesday, February 15, 2012

All Prayed Up

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousnessfor they will be filled. (Matthew 5:6)



I've heard the expression "Are you all prayed up?" more than once since living here in the South. There's even a country song with the same title. What does it mean to be "all prayed up?"

Being all prayed up is sort of like having a well-stocked pantry. It reminds me of my mother who never let her pantry shelves go bare. She took advantage of supermarket sales and stocked up on groceries whenever she had the chance. Nothing went to waste. And in the summer she would can or freeze fruits and vegetables.  Growing up in post-war Europe she knew what hunger was like firsthand.

What does prayer have to do with a kitchen pantry, you might wonder? It's all about being stocked up. Stocking up on prayers, that is. Is your prayer life like those empty cupboards? Do you completely run out of supplies before replenishing your pantry? In other words, do you wait until you are starving before you make your shopping list? Sometimes our prayer lives can be like those empty shelves. We wait until there's a desperate need before we turn to God with our pleas. I'm guilty. "I'm in trouble, Lord. Please help me." We wait until we go to triage before we start praying.

Being prayed up satisfies the spiritual hunger in us. It fills us with hope and joy and peace and draws us closer to Jesus. But it means we have to pray continually, every chance we can. It may be a simple "Thank You, Lord," or a long conversation. (He's listening). It's keeping those lines of communication open and knowing that the Lord has our back, even if no one else does. And that spiritual hunger and thirst will be satisfied through the power of prayer.


5 comments:

Janet, said...

Being all prayed up is good. But, unfortunately, sometimes we don't go to him until we need something or we are in a time of trouble.

GretchenJoanna said...

Well said, Anita. Have a wonderful day in communion with your Lord.

Kuki... said...

Beautifully said Anita...I constantly strive to thank our Lord for blessings as well as requests for strength and aide.

Unknown said...

Thank you, the spirit h as lead me to your post l awoken in the need of knowledge this morning, your answer is what l needed. Thank you in jesus name

Anita said...

Thank you stopping by my blog and for your kind words. May God bless you and hear your prayers.