Alert and Hopeful

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. Ephesians 6:18 NIV

Over the past few weeks, I have been made aware. Painfully aware that we live in a fallen world, that there are people who live with evil, that there are people who are hurt and broken by evil, that we have to cling all the more to God. 

From my own family which has had its share of broken promises, bad examples, and shattered dreams to the people I come in contact with on a daily basis, we are all in need of hope. Most of us in the US have decent lives but there is always something just under the surface which informs our decisions, our futures, and our hopes. Our hope is in our risen Savior Jesus. We have to cling to the Resurrection for that's where our hope lies. We can rise again to serve in spite of the way yesterday turned out. 

I know it may seem like a daunting task to rise to hope. I have the same reluctance to get out of bed because I know the evil from yesterday will try to cling to today. Some days, it is just too hard to bear. Too hard to think about. But I will because I am called to keep going. I have friends to lean on and prayer partners to hold me up when I am overwhelmed. 

Paul reminds us in his letter from prison to the Ephesians to continue to pray. The New International Version says, "be alert." That is our call always to be alert and prayerful as we encounter the world. We need that high alert in the broken world we live in. 


"Keep on Praying for the Lord's people."