This just in from our global online tribe: My prayers feel weak and it’s like God is not listening and that makes me pray less. Can you help me?
Welcome!
You are now an official member of the prayer-is-tough club. All Christians pass through our group at one point or another. The good news is that most of them understand what makes prayer difficult and eventually learn how to get past those barriers. And that can happen to you, too.
The first teaching offered in this club is to stop trying to pray perfect prayers from a perfect heart at the perfect time. This perfection triad is elusive because it is an illusion. It is the WRONG ROAD.
God’s road to a powerful and productive prayer life goes through one intersection: PRAY CONSTANTLY.
“Let your hope keep you joyful, be patient in your troubles, and pray at all times.” Romans 12:12
All Christians—me, you, everyone–need to be constantly reminded of the importance of prayer in our walk with Christ. Please RECONSIDER your position if you think, “I’ve heard this message so many times and I understand prayer.”
Here’s how I make the primary teaching point on prayer:
Be like the little kids pestering and annoying and torturing their parents for something that they “must have.” They just keep asking and asking and asking.
Praying at all times (“constantly” in many translations) is not a time/quantity play as much as it is an imperative to COMMIT to the habit of prayer and ask and ask and then ask again.
We need to have at least a little URGENCY and DESPERATION in our prayers. To do that, just think of children asking their parents for something over and over again.
I ask God to remind me daily to pray like a child.
WHAT ABOUT YOU?
Are you praying like the child who REALLY wants something?
“Do all this in prayer, asking for God’s help. Pray on every occasion, as the Spirit leads. For this reason keep alert and never give up; pray always for all God’s people.” Ephesians 6:18
