Christians know they should pray. It’s an expression of worship and confidence in God’s goodness to us. But it’s so easy to give up on prayer for a few reasons.
A low view of what prayer is
We fall into this trap when we think about prayer as “the least we can do.” Most commonly, this shows up when we talk about, “All we can do is pray.” Someone is sick or something threatening comes our way and we feel helpless.
There is no small prayer. Prayers may be as short as “Help!” or “Thank you, Jesus!” But when prayer brings our requests and desires before the almighty, holy God of creation… there is no small prayer.
Impatience with God’s timing
Some prayer requests take years. Decades even. Endure in prayer. I have been reading about the life of Saint Augustine, the most influential Christian pastor/writer outside of Scripture, about his long and hard journey to faith. For decades, he lived in sinful resistance to the things of God, and pursued the pleasures of the world and earthly prestige. But his mother, Monica, prayed faithfully for him even despite his outright rejection of Christianity. Years later, Augustine reflected back on his life, noting the years of steadfast prayer on his behalf by his loving mother.
Don’t grow weary in prayer. God is faithful, and his timeline is good.
Wavering faith in the goodness of God
It’s easy to fall into believing, “If God was good, he wouldn’t allow this to happen.” You’ve prayed and prayed and prayed, but nothing has changed and it seems like God simply doesn’t care. After all, if God is going to do whatever he wants to do anyway, what’s the point in praying? But God is good, and he delights in giving good gifts to his children. Now, that doesn’t mean we will never suffer. What that means is we can know the goodness of God even though suffering and difficulties we endure. Whatever might try persuade you that God does not desire good for you, remember the cross, where God’s love and justice are shown in full measure.
If you are tempted to quit praying, don’t. Christians have become children of God through faith. We do not pray I order to persuade or manipulate God to do what we want. No. We pray as children making our requests known to our Father in Heaven, trusting in his good judgement and timing.
“Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.” Colossians 4:2
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