Day 7 - Pray for Your Family and Its Concerns

At that time people began to call upon the name of the Lord. Genesis 4:26

At the end of the fourth chapter of Genesis, when civilization was first beginning, it says, “At that time people began to call upon the name of the Lord” (Genesis 4:26). What does that mean? It signals that people recognized their need for God. They began to cry out to God for help in their troubles.

The account of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden is one of close union with God. God walked among the garden in the “cool of the day” (Genesis 3:8). He spoke face to face with the humans he had made. Adam and Eve’s fall into sin changed that reality. After the Fall, God’s presence was not so close. People knew God’s care, but only rarely did he appear to them personally. People recognized that they would need to pray if they were to obtain help from God. They began to call on God’s name in prayer and petition.

Prayer is still today the way we communicate with God. God does not come to speak to us in person, like a friend or neighbor. It is through his Spirit that he communicates with us. This means that we must pray if we are to commune with God. But God invites us to pray and assures us that he listens when we do. It has been said that prayer is to the spiritual life as breathing is to our physical lives. Just as we cannot do without breathing, our spiritual lives cannot do without prayer.

Remember that God has resources to help. When we call on his name, we affirm that he is our loving heavenly Father who knows us and loves us. It is his desire to come to our aid. He stands ready, waiting for us to call him to action.

Today call on God. Call upon his name. Awaken God to your needs and the needs of your family. Rouse God to come to your aid. Cry out to him for yourself, others, and our world. Particularly ask his grace for your family. Pray for your close and extended family. Bring before God any of your family’s pressing and current needs.