I love the Lord, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. Because he turns his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live. (Psalm 116:1–2)
How we view prayer enormously affects the quality of our prayer life.
If we view it as something we would like to do, but just have no time for, we won’t find the time. If we view it as boring and difficult, we will avoid it. If we view it as a tiresome duty, we will resent it. If we view it as something that, to be honest, seems to have little effect on how things really work out, we will carry a hidden feeling of disappointment and disillusionment. If we view it as something only “super saints” practice, we will feel inadequate. If we view it as only a means of trying to talk a reluctant God into paying attention and doing something about all our personal problems and desires — we’ll miss the power source that God intends prayer to be.
While we may at times feel we never have time to pray, it’s not really a matter of time; it’s a matter of priority. It’s possible to develop the attitude, “If I don’t get anything else done in a day, I need to pray. I really, really need to pray.”
Prayer loses the perception of being boring and difficult when we realize it is the lifeline between us and headquarters — it is the center for communication and supply. More and more, we realize it is not a tiresome duty — it is a delightful response to God as we commune with Him while reading or contemplating His Word.
Prayer is not ineffective! It is the means of power for ministry and life.
We don’t have to be super saints to pray; small children can talk to the Father. The newest believer can approach the throne of the living God and pour out his or her heart to Him.
It’s not about approaching a reluctant God and trying to talk Him into doing something about our personal needs — it is the means of “cast[ing] all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (1 Pet. 5:7) and finding peace the world can’t understand.
We must not kid ourselves: The spiritual health and vitality of any church (and the individual believer, as well) is directly proportional to the health and vitality of the prayer life. Just as the pulse is a vital sign for physical life, a healthy prayer life is one of the vital signs in spiritual life. It’s the undeniable evidence of a living, functioning relationship with the Triune God.
— Carol Archer has been a student of Scripture-based prayer for more than 25 years. She has been a women’s speaker and teacher in South Carolina since 2011 and a women’s ministries leader for the last seven years. She is the author of A Seat in the Heavenlies: Lord, Show Us How to Pray, soon to be reprinted by Courier Publishing. Carol and her husband reside in Irmo, S.C.