and pray

“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14)

There are many ways to define prayer, but my favorite definition is this — “prayer is the conversational part of the most important love relationship in our lives—our relationship with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” Prayer is so simple that many Christians neglect it, thinking erroneously that it can’t be that easy, that there must be some special skill required to be able to pray correctly. Some have said that prayerlessness is the greatest disease infecting the body of Christ today. It leads to apathy and hopelessness, because the problems in the world are so overwhelming. Prayer is what happens when we depend on God; prayerlessness is what happens when we depend on ourselves. Jesus commanded us to pray, and modeled prayer for us. Even though prayer is very simple, it is also a spiritual discipline. In other words, it is something that we can grow and develop in. Just as a young child has faltering steps, and with much practice walks and eventually runs, so, too, we can grow in our prayer lives. The best way to learn how to pray is to pray! A common question concerning prayer is whether it is more important to pray alone or with others. That’s like asking whether we should walk on the left leg or the right. Both are needed—make time in your schedule for alone time with God and to pray with a small group. Many people who have strong prayer lives say that they learned how to pray by praying with someone who was more seasoned in prayer than they were. There are many different ways to pray—be yourself and God will help you. Though it often looks like Satan is winning in our communities, the body of Christ has underutilized its greatest weapon – prayer. Change is possible. Countries like South Korea have been transformed in our generation from non-Christian to overwhelmingly Christian, mainly through large numbers of people crying out to God for their nation. We serve a God of miracles, who can defy statistics. In one night, God delivered the entire nation of Israel and they went out blessed and strong. Pray. Pray often.  Pray hard. Pray with expectation. But pray.

Prayer: Father, teach me to pray. Keep me from praying out of obligation or religious compulsion; give me Your heart. Please forgive me for my prayerlessness and help me to be faithful in prayer. Increase my faith as I use the mustard seed You have already given me. I want to see Your Kingdom come! Give me confidence and expectation in You, that every time I pray, You hear my prayer and act on my behalf. In Jesus’ name, Amen.