Prayerlessness plagues me. I do experience satisfying, fruitful seasons of prayer, but I also experience dry prayer winters. This fluctuation frustrates me. It seems I could always more prayerful.
Jackie Hill Perry says, “Prayerlessness is a sign that I believe I only need myself to keep myself throughout the day.”
When I don’t pray, I’m living as though I don’t need God. But I sure do need Him!
Think about this: Jesus prayed.
Jesus, the Son of God, the perfect Man, prayed.
He prayed all throughout His day in constant communion with the Father. Jesus prayed:
- alone (Matthew 14:23, Mark 1:35, Luke 9:18; 22:39-41)
- in public (John 11:41-42; 12:27-30)
- before meals (Matthew 26:26, Mark 8:6, Luke 24:30, John 6:11)
- before important decisions (Luke 6:12-13)
- before healing (Mark 7:34-35)
- after healing (Luke 5:26)
- to do the Father’s will (Matthew 26:36-44)
If Jesus needed to pray, how much more do we need to pray?!
Does your own prayer life need reviving? Lord willing, I’ll be writing a blog post about this in the next few weeks, but for now, try this one tip:
Create a new prayer trigger.
For many Christians, mealtimes are a natural trigger to pray. Other prayer triggers could be:
- when your alarm goes off in the morning, or just before getting out of bed
- starting your car
- brushing your teeth
- folding laundry
- turning on your computer
- in the shower or bath
If it’s been a while since you’ve spent time in prayer, just like one of Jesus’ disciples in Luke 11:1, start with this prayer: “Lord, teach me to pray.”
Then read through Luke 11:2-13 for His answer.
