Awaken Your Prayer Life
INTRODUCTION
How’s your prayer life? Is it soaring with energy as you call out to the Father without ceasing and sinking deep in intimacy as you commune with the Father daily? If the answer is yes, praise God, and press on in ceaseless prayer.
But what if your prayer life has entered into a slumber? What if prayer has become burdensome, unexciting, and hard for you to enter into? What if you are not even praying, except for at meals, if that?
Prayer is part of the life of a Christian. If being a Christian is about following Jesus by faith, leading a life trusting in Him and walking in His way, then the evidence of His earthly life proves that those on the way will be practicing prayer. His life was one of seeking the Father, communing through conversation with Him. And so, our life should be infused with times of prayer in a similar way.
It’s not just the pattern of Jesus’s life that insists on a commitment to prayer in our own lives. Jesus tells us to pray. In Matthew 6:8, Jesus tells His disciples that the Father knows what we need and therefore we should reach out to Him in prayer. In Hebrews 4, we learn that we can confidently draw near to the Father. Philippians 4 tells us that when the trials and anxieties of this world press in that the natural response for someone “in Christ Jesus” is prayer (Phil. 4:7).
There are other passages that teach us that prayer is a vital part of someone living a life in Jesus Christ, but you get the point.
So, if prayer is to a Christian what breathing is to a human (that is, vital), and your prayer life is slumbering or prayer is a struggle for you, how can you awaken your practice of prayer? Here are three suggestions.
1. START SMALL
In a world where there are 24/7 houses of prayer, a prayer that takes minutes can feel weak or ineffective. But while the length of your prayer could be a sign of your desire to speak with God and to hear from Him, a short prayer is not always a sign or symptom of lack of desire. A short prayer could actually be a sign and symptom of a man or woman seeking to establish a life pursuing the Father.
Jesus never told us to pray long prayers. He never told us to set aside an hour in the morning, in the midday, and in the evening for prayer. In fact, the prayer that He taught us to pray, often called, “The Lord’s Prayer,” is quite short. It takes less than 30 seconds to pray.
So, if your life needs an awakening, start short. Set aside minutes for prayer in the morning, not hours. Begin with the Lord’s Prayer. Begin by just praying.
2. START SIMPLE
Eloquent prayers are beautiful and can really capture emotions and requests and deliver them to the Father with depth and rich feeling. However, we’re never told that prayer needs to be eloquent. In fact, we’re told the exact opposite. Rich language and eccentric theology language in a prayer can be a symptom of self-righteousness or pride. Jesus points this out in Matthew 6:5-8.
If you need an awakening in your prayer life, you might feel like you don’t even know how to start; you might feel like you can’t “say it right.” The only right way to pray is with honesty and sincerity. Talk to God how you would talk to a dear friend and with simplicity.
3. ASK SOMEONE TO PRAY FOR YOU
Finally, if you’re convinced that as Jesus prayed so you too should be in prayer, but you are struggling to cultivate that frequent communion with the Father, ask someone to pray for you. Find a brother or sister and tell them that you desire to grow in prayer; ask them to pray that you would make steps toward that end.
CONCLUSION
If you want to grow in prayer, you have to, well, pray. You have to start. But you can begin your journey with the support of others praying for you, knowing that your prayer language can and should be simple and to the point, and that it doesn’t demand hours, but begins with moments.