Are you Praying Enough?

So, I know this is a loaded question, but it’s one that needs to be asked. Of late, I’ve been hearing a lot about prayer and praying – in devotionals, at church, in conferences. Prayer is a topic everywhere. And the more I look around me at the world we live in, the more I realize that I’m definitely not praying enough. The Bible tells us to pray without ceasing (1 Thes 5:16-18). Of course, I pray when I think about it and I pray when something is going on, but I look for God to move quickly and then I move on to the next thing. 

As we have been studying Genesis since the beginning of the year, I’m reminded regularly that God does not operate on my time table (look at Abraham, Isaac and Jacob). I have to operate on His timetable. He is a good God and great is His faithfulness (Lam 3:22-23). He is faithful to fulfill His promises (Heb 10:23), but that doesn’t mean that He owes me anything or that my prayer is just to get something from Him (transactional)…..or at least it shouldn’t be. 

Our prayer life is really about relationship with God. It’s the way we communicate with Him. So, for example, I talk to my mom every day, almost without fail. Yes, if I’m traveling or sick, I may not speak to her and my dad, but generally, they are a priority for me every morning. If my physical parents are a priority to speak with every day and they are hundreds of miles away, how can I ignore or take for granted my heavenly Father who is always with me? I can sadly admit that it’s pretty easy to do. Life happens and all the things that are going on throughout the day take on an importance they should never have. In this, I must repent. 

It's easy to say that God understands my life and my heart…..and He does…..He gets that I make other things more important than Him. I can only confess that, apologize/repent and commit to doing better. I have to set aside time for just Him and I know it won’t be easy. I know I will be attacked in this area, but that doesn’t change the fact that I need to make prayer the way I do everything. If I really believe that I belong to God and not myself, the things He says are important have to the be the things that are important to me. That’s not an issue with my worldly bosses – whatever they say is a priority becomes my priority. How is it different with God? 

Spending time with Him so that I know Him better…..so I’m not distracted by circumstances or people around me…..so I know without a shadow of doubt who He is and what He can do…..are especially important to my walk with Him. I always said I wanted to have a relationship with Father God like Enoch who walked faithfully with Him and didn’t see death (Gen 5:21-24). And so far, I’ve failed at that. Don’t get me wrong, I spend time with God, but I’m not walking with Him every moment of every day. That’s hard for me to admit, but I know I’m not always seeking His counsel in decision making and I’m not always listening to Him when I want to do something. If I want the fullness of God for my life, I need to seek His will and not my own. I know that….but the practice is not there yet. I have work to do and He has work to do in me (Phil 1:6).

Please pray for me as I pray for you that your prayer life would be strengthened and that your relationship with Father God would be deeper. We all need Him, I just think we don’t realize how much. Blessings to you!