Making the time to pray to God is one of the most important things we can do, but how often do we do it?
I think there are a lot of factors that play into why we sometimes struggle with prayer:
- It could be our upbringing – (ie. if we had parents who never really listened, how can we expect God to?)
- It might be our church background where prayers may be memorized more than they are just said and so we struggle with knowing or remembering what to say
- It could be that we just wonder if prayer really “works” and if it doesn’t, then what’s the point?
My friend Jennifer has written a couple of books on prayer and the first is out in stores and titled Six Prayers God Always Answers (Results May Vary). I highly recommend it because she does a great job looking at prayer and the kinds of prayers we pray and why we pray (or don’t) and why God wants us to pray.
A couple of months ago, for our Wives of Faith meeting, I announced that instead of having our usual meeting, we would just have a time of prayer together – for each other, for the conference coming up, for whatever God brought to our hearts to pray about. Only one other wife came but we had a great time of praying and asking God for His help and praising him for who He is in the first place.
I wasn’t really surprised that more people didn’t come that night – though we might not easily admit it, I think prayer is a little scary for some, for all the reasons mentioned above. Even my friend who was there that night was a little nervous about praying out loud. She said someone had once told her her prayers sounded silly and scattered, and this had kept her from praying, at least out loud, much.
Prayer also doesn’t offer immediate results as we often want. If I sit down and talk with you about a problem in my life, I’m going to get immediate response – concern in your eyes, agreement in your voice, advice from your own experiences. When I sit down to talk with God, I may not always get an answer right away – but it doesn’t mean He doesn’t hear us.
I know that God answers prayer because I’ve seen Him answer prayers in my own life – some more immediate than others, but nevertheless, He has answered. As a senior in high school, He healed my voice. As a young writer about to take off for the Middle East, He supplied a passport, literally, at the curb of the airport I was waiting to leave from. He has also answered other prayers I’ve had in my life having to do with relationships and friendships.
The thing is, those answers can only come when we ask.
Jesus tells us in Matthew and also in Luke that we shouldn’t “bargain with God. Be direct. Ask for what you need” (Matthew 7:7, The Message).
At the same time, we also should remember that God isn’t room service – we call and He delivers. There is a relationship there we want to embrace. When no one else can be counted on, God can, and we can’t forget that.
Prayer is also very personal. It is direct communication with the Most Heavenly God. I think about the story of Esther approaching the king and holding her breath that he would stretch out his scepter, a sign that she was welcome. Ladies, God does that with us every day! We are welcome in His presence! He wants to hear from us and love us and help us and help direct our way for His plan and His purpose for our lives. But we have to take that first step and that is often on our knees.
This can be hard. As a military wife dealing with my husband’s deployment last year, I got to where I was reluctant to go to God in prayer very often because I ended up crying almost every time. I think that’s because when we open that communication line with our Lord, He stirs up all the hurts and emotions and troubles we’re dealing with. Why do you think that is? Do you think it’s because He wants us to feel bad? No, I think it’s because He wants us to turn those hurts over to Him to repair, to smooth away, to carry for us.
Taking the time to pray doesn’t have to be long or drawn out. It can be in the morning before you get out of bed. I often keep my phone next to me because in the morning, I can check my email and get the prayer of the day that our 100 Day campaign sends and then I’ll take time to pray about that prayer request before I get up and get my day started. You can pray driving in your car or when you take a walk at the park or around your neighborhood. Some days we need more – we need to be on the floor of our bedroom and let God hear all of our hurts and pain. Sometimes we need to ask a friend to pray with us.
If you have trouble knowing just what to say to God, stay tuned. That’s the topic for tomorrow. Be blessed today!
Tomorrow: Knowing What to Say to God
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