(John 16:24 NLT) You haven’t done this before. Ask, using my name, and you will receive, and you will have abundant joy.
This morning we continue our new series entitled, “Re-Energizing Your Prayer Life.” This is the beginning of the fourth week of this series and I pray it has been a blessing to you thus far. As I have previously stated, many believers simply don’t pray. They have come to the conclusion—consciously or subconsciously—that prayer isn’t very important to every day life; that prayer doesn‘t apply to the real world. So what are they left with? They look primarily to themselves or others to meet their needs in order to get by every day. But this is not a picture of the life the Father intends for us to live. Our heavenly father earnestly yearns to be part of our daily lives and prayer has a lot to do with it. I am convinced that the lack of prayer is connected to a failed understanding of prayer. In general, there is a lack of teaching, interest, and working knowledge about prayer in the church. This lack of understanding has caused many to THINK that their prayers have been unanswered. Perceived unanswered prayer can cause spiritual and emotional pain that can be deep and devastating. It can lead to sorrow, despair, bitterness, and rebellion. This perception can undermine the foundation of our faith and lead to the following:
1. We feel abandoned and isolated from God, imagining that He doesn’t care about our problems.
- When this happens we begin to doubt His love for us.
- We view God as someone who is either against us (at worst) or just indifferent towards us (at best).
- Once we get to this point we no longer see God as a loving, caring and sharing heavenly Father.
2. We come to premature conclusions about our prayers and ourselves. We try to make sense out of why our prayers are not effective and we say things like:
- I must not have enough faith.
- God doesn’t hear my prayers.
- Why can‘t I pray like… so and so?
3. We doubt our calling as intercessors. Although the Father expects us to pray for others, we begin to think:
- Well, answered prayer must be for an elite group of super-spiritual Christians.
- Maybe God did not “call” me to pray.
- Once we get to this point we simply stop praying.
I can relate. In 1997 I was part of an evangelistic street outreach team. We went door-to-door evangelizing on Saturday mornings. I was the youngest person on the team and one of two men. Before we went out we circled together, held hands, and prayed. The prayer went from person to person. As I heard these women pray, it seemed like they were immediately translated to heaven and they were praying before the very throne of God Almighty. When the prayer got to me I often stumbled my way through a few lines, feeling inadequate and intimidated. I know I did not know how to pray, but pride would not allow me to ask for help.
So what does this mean to you today? It means that all is not lost. If you have had a hard time with prayer, just hold on. Open your mind and your heart to what the Father is teaching you in this series and you will grow in the area of prayer. Don’t allow pride to keep you where you are! Humble yourself and let God take you higher.
Closing Confession: Father, I thank You for what You are doing in my life. You are taking me higher and higher in You as I develop my prayer life. I acknowledge the frustrations I have had with prayer in the past, but I refuse to allow past pain to keep me from future success. I open my heart, my mind, and my spirit to learn of You. You teach me to pray and I get better at it day-by-day. I resist frustration as I keep a firm grip on my faith in the area of prayer. I will grow, I will pray, You will hear me, You will respond, and I will experience abundant joy! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper!
