Thanks for joining us for Part 3 of our series for men. In Part 1, we talked about how the world we live in is hurting. Depression, alcoholism, pornography… the list goes on and it’s obvious to see there is an attack on men in this world. Last week in Part 2, we discussed how the evil one speaks lies to us and how we desperately need to depend on God. With everything we are, we must turn to Christ and choose Him to save us each and every day.

This week, we go straight to the heart of being a man of prayer.

In 1 Cor 13:11, it says “When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child… when I became a man, I gave up childish ways…” Having a relationship with Christ is where being a man of prayer starts. We must be men of prayer. In our homes, at work, everywhere. When someone asks for someone to lead prayer, we should be the first to volunteer, not sit back and wait for someone else. All of this starts with knowing Him to whom we pray.

Start with 5 minutes a day. Don’t give the excuse that you don’t have time. Don’t just stop at “I try to pray.” When was the last time that you tried to eat lunch every day? You don’t “try” to eat, you just do it. Don’t try to pray. Just pray. Start with a minimum of 5 minutes a day. Read the daily mass readings, which you can find here by clicking on today’s date on the calendar at the right. Find a chapel and sit in the silent presence of God. Write down your intentions. Just start and be open.

Stand up like the spiritual warrior that you are called to be.

Men are constantly attacked. And as we start to become better men of Christ, we are going to be attacked. We have to support each other. We need to pray over each other as well. The Devil is constantly attacking manhood and men, we need to support each other in verbal prayer over each other. I’m going to ask you to find an accountability partner in prayer. We need each other, and this is not weakness but strength. Find a brother in Christ and share something real that you need prayers for. Ask them to pray over you. Then, do the same for them and pray over them.

Don’t believe the lie that sharing vulnerably is not manly.  For me, it would be that I keep better custody of my eyes and watch how much I drink. Pray for power, for courage, for wisdom. For your brother to stop making excuses, to stop looking at pornography, to stop embracing anger… This is the courage and bravery that we are supposed to have. When we see someone hurting, angry, or in distress we need to be the courageous men that God has called us to be and ask if that person needs prayers. Then, instead of saying “I’ll pray for you” and walking away, we need to pray over them right then and there. We need to stand up like the spiritual warriors that we are called to be. Grow in your daily prayer and find the support to keep going.

STAY TUNED FOR THE SERIES’ CONCLUSION, PART 4…