Do you wish God would give you a ministry? Do you desire to serve the Lord but do not know where to start?

Then start with what Oswald Chambers called the “ministry of the interior.”

As born-again, redeemed children of God, Christians are called to “pray,” throughout scripture, but the truth is many of us do not pray on a regular basis. Oh, we may pray at meals, and perhaps we pray and ask the Lord to help us not be late for work as we race through the traffic lights on Monday morning.

Perhaps we even pray for God’s protection and blessing over our family, but there is no real, on-going “intercession” for others outside our immediate family.

The apostle Paul said, “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). He certainly did. We see numerous times when he told other believers he was praying for them. According to Paul, prayer is not an “option” for a believer; it is to be a spiritual discipline because it is so important.

Paul instructed the church at Ephesus, “… 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).

As Believers and “followers” of Christ, we are to follow the Lord’s example, and as we see in the Gospels, the Lord Jesus prayed regularly, for Himself and for others when He walked this earth.

Prayer is one of the ways God speaks to us and is the tool He gave us to talk to Him and have fellowship with Him. Prayer causes us to draw close to God, which He desires, and intercessory prayer causes us to focus on others rather than ourselves.

Chambers said, “The real business of your life as a saved soul is intercessory prayer.”

There are people in our lives who need us to pray for them, even if they do not realize it.

Yes, intercessory prayer can be hard to incorporate into one’s schedule because most of us are far too busy. Still, if we ask the Lord to put the desire in our hearts to pray for others, He will.

Mysteriously marvelous things happen when we set aside time in our busy lives to pray for others – we are blessed and filled with God’s love for them, and our time seems to be stretched so that we still have time to do other things. That is the beautiful thing about God’s infinite economy – it seldom makes sense to our finite, common sense.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9).

If this “ministry” appeals to you, just start where you can. Maybe pray for (five) minutes for a few people and let the Lord lead you in those prayers. As He leads, add a few others to that list.

Pray for your pastor and his family; they need our prayers more than ever! Pray for those who do not have a relationship with Jesus in your family, workplace, city and state. You will be amazed at how setting aside that time to pray for others, making that sacrifice of your time, comes back to you in blessings a hundred-fold.

Someone once said, “A day without prayer is a day without blessing; and a life without prayer is a life without power.”

Christian, if you want to serve the Lord but do not know where to start, start with the “ministry of the interior.” No one else may know about your “ministry” but God, but He’s the only One that matters. “… and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.”

I promise you; this ministry will change your spiritual walk like nothing else and not only yours – but it will help change the lives of those for whom you pray.

Lisa Hannan lives in Valdosta with her husband, attorney Miles Hannan, who has been practicing law in Valdosta for more than 30 years. She has a B.S. in psychology from Valdosta State University. You can find her at www.lisahannan.org.