Do you talk to God?

So several months ago I began a devotional for the Enterprise with this question: Does God talk to you?  I went on to write about the necessity of studying the Scriptures.  I intended to follow that devotional with one on prayer, one that would begin with this question: Do you talk to God?

I never wrote it.

If I could point to one part of my Christian life as most lacking, it would be my prayer life.  When I read the Bible or other Christian biographies I am humbled by the amount of time that men and women of faith who have gone before have spent in prayer.  Many of them set aside hours – some even an entire day or days each week – to spend in prayer.  Jesus Himself sometimes rose very early in the morning to pray or stayed up all night to pray (Mark 1:35, Luke 6:12).

And I?

I squeeze in a few prayers here and there, but when the kids and all the demands of each day press close, prayer is the first thing to go.

I go through vicious cycles where I pray very little, and then I start to feel as if I have very little for which to pray.

And yet prayer is the activity in which the Christian soldier is commanded always to be involved:  “And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints” (Ephesians 6:17-18; see also Luke 18:1-7).

No wonder I am so quickly discouraged, so easily dismayed.

Perhaps you’ve heard “Prayer changes things.”  Or maybe you’ve read The Prayer of Jabez, and have come to believe that if you adopt a prayer style like the one recorded in I Chronicles 4:9-10 your life will be one abounding with incredible blessing and grandiose witnessing opportunities.  But Christ warns us not to use vain, repetitious prayers in Matthew 6:7 (see also Ecclesiastes 5:2).  And the Scriptures testify to God’s eternal, unchanging counsel: “The LORD of hosts has sworn, saying, ‘Surely, as I have thought, so it shall come to pass, and as I have purposed, so it shall stand’” (Isaiah 14:24).  Nor do our prayers inform God of our needs or our troubles:  “Your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him” (Matthew 6:8).

So why pray?

Well, from one point of view, prayer does change things.   Prayer changes everything.  When we come humbly before the Father in prayer we acknowledge His rule and our reliance. We take our eyes off of our grief, and fasten them on His glory.  We quit focusing on ourselves and consider the needs of others.  When we pray, the Spirit helps our infirmities, aligning our mind and heart with the will of God for us (Luke 11:9-13, Romans 8:26, Philippians 2:13, I John 5:14-15). Prayer is a privilege God graciously grants us, enabling us to express our submission to His will for our lives.

So pray without ceasing (I Thessalonians 5:17).

Continue instant in prayer (Romans 12:12).

Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us (Psalm 62:8).

And be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:6).