Wherever I look, I see people with many different kinds of needs. Some of them are close to death and others are recovering from surgery. Some need God’s guidance and others are seeking help for their loved ones to be rescued from addictions. The list goes on and on but one thing is certain; our heavenly Father knows every one of these needs before I ask Him to take care of them. After Jesus ascended to heaven to be with His Father, the apostles recognized that they had two important things to which they had to give their highest priority. Nothing was more essential to them than prayer and the ministry of the word. The wonderful thing about those two ministries is that I can always find time to do them if I make them the highest priority in my life. When I am focused on those two activities, I discover that I am also dwelling in continual fellowship with the Lord. Nothing is more important than that.
“And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”
Matthew 6:7-8
“So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, ‘It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word’.”
Acts 6:2-4