The Bible is replete with the command to pray. God has filled His Book with promises that are connected directly with prayer. Prayer is such a unique privilege and wonderful blessing for the child of God. Yet, we often struggle with prayer. Surprisingly, the disciples of Jesus struggled with prayer as well (Luke 11:1). I sometimes struggle with prayer; do you ever struggle? What makes this spiritual discipline such a challenge for many Christians? Consider the following.
Inadequacy. We sometimes struggle with prayer because we feel as though we are inadequate to pray. Sometimes prayer is thought of as a practice for the spiritually elite; in other words, if I feel weak, how could I ever approach God? Yet, it is during those bouts of weakness and uncertainty that we really need time with our Father (1 Peter 5:7; Philippians 4:6). While we are quite inadequate in and of ourselves, with the power of our High Priest, we can “come boldly to the throne of grace” (Hebrews 4:15-16). Do not let your feelings of inadequacy prevent you from praying without ceasing!
Ignorance. We sometimes struggle with prayer because we simply do not know how to pray. Just think for a moment; how do people usually learn to pray? Most often we learn from hearing others pray. While that is not necessarily a bad way to learn, we can seldom go deeper into prayer than those from whom we have learned. Sometimes as children, we are taught quaint prayers like “Now I lay me down to sleep,” etc. As we grow into adulthood, although the words may change, the level of knowledge and depth does not change. To learn to pray, we must be taught! The disciples asked Jesus to teach them (Luke 11:1), with the implication that John the Immerser also taught his disciples. To better learn to pray, study the Model Prayer found in Matthew 6:9-13, and the Lord’s Prayer found in John 17. Walk with Jesus to Gethsemane as He poured out His heart to the Father in Matthew 26:39-44. See His posture, hear His pain, and note His phrases. There is simply no better teacher than Jesus. I can learn so much about prayer from Him!
Inconsistency. We sometimes struggle with prayer because we do not have regular times to pray. We often face each day with a schedule for food, work, the gym, recreation and everything else, but we fail to set regular times aside to pray. Daniel was a prayer warrior, and he had regular times to pray (Daniel 6:10). Jesus, our example, prayed regularly. Consider just a few times: Jesus prayed at His baptism (Luke 3:21). He prayed regularly away from the crowds (Luke 5:16), after healing people in the evening (Mark 1:35), before walking on water (Matthew 14:23) and before choosing the twelve (Luke 6:12). As Christians, we are often good at praying before our meals, but what other times have you set aside for personal prayer to the Father? We can never expect to be consistent prayer warriors if we do not set numerous times throughout the day to pray.
Insecurity. Sometimes we struggle with prayer because we simply do not trust that God can operate and answer prayer. Have you ever been there? You pray, but in the back of your mind you doubt! For prayer to be effective, it must be accompanied by faith (James 1:6-8). Bible faith is based on evidence (Hebrews 11:1), and the evidence (God’s Word) teaches clearly that God operates and acts upon the prayers of the faithful (1 Peter 3:12; 1 John 5:15). Much like an earthly father loves to bless his earthly children, our Heavenly Father in a greater way desires to bless us, His spiritual children (Matthew 7:11-12). Praying without ceasing involves a faith that does not cease!
Prayer is a spiritual discipline that requires work and time. We do not become prayer warriors overnight! Dear Reader, do not allow your inadequacy, ignorance, inconsistency or insecurity to stand in the way of a healthy prayer life. Prayer changes things! Prayer opens God’s providential hand and power upon earth today. God is God and will always be, so “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17)!
