“And there is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee: for thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast consumed us, because of our iniquities.”
Isaiah 64:7, KJV
Prayer is one of those things we often discuss more than we practice.
Almost every believer knows that prayer is important. We hear sermons about it, read books about it, attend prayer meetings, and tell people, “I’ll pray for you.” Yet actually stopping everything, shutting out distractions, and seeking God consistently can be surprisingly difficult.
Prayer is hard.
I must tell you the truth.
There will be days when you genuinely want to pray. You will sit before God and find your heart unusually tender. Words will come easily. You will enjoy the presence of God.
But there will also be days when prayer feels like work.
You are tired. Your mind is scattered. You have talked to people so much that you have talked yourself out of the mood to pray. You know you should pray, but you just don’t feel like praying.
Do not make your feelings the master of your prayer life.
There are times when you must stir yourself.
Isaiah speaks of someone who “stirreth up himself to take hold of thee.” There is effort in that language. There is intentionality. Sometimes you have to get yourself moving toward God before your emotions catch up.
Haven’t you ever wondered, “Why is building a consistent prayer life so difficult?”
Timothy Keller tells how his wife, Kathy, helped them become consistent in praying together every night. She asked him to imagine being diagnosed with a deadly condition for which the doctor prescribed one pill every night. If he missed it, he would die. Would he forget? Would he say he was too tired? No. He would make sure he took it because his life depended on it.
Then she said, in essence, “If we don’t pray together to God, we’re not going to make it through all that we’re facing. We have to pray. We can’t let it just slip our minds.”
That illustration changed something for them. Keller later said it was probably the Spirit of God using the power and clarity of that metaphor.
The result? They maintained that practice of praying every night for more than twelve years without missing a single night.
Think about that.
Twelve years of consistency.
My beloved, prayer will not always be convenient. It will not always be enjoyable. Some days you will have to stir yourself.
So stir yourself.
Get up. Put away the phone. Close the door. Open your Bible. Bow your knees. Speak to God.
And if you have neglected prayer, do not drown yourself in regret. Regret will not bring you into God’s presence.
Go back to God.
You missed yesterday? Pray today.
You have been inconsistent for weeks? Begin again today.
You don’t feel spiritual? Pray anyway.
You don’t know what to say? Start with what is true: “Lord, I need You.”
Do not wait until you feel like praying.
Bestir yourself. Stir yourself to pray. Move yourself toward God. And when you don’t feel like praying, pray anyway.
TODAY’S CHALLENGE
Read Luke 11:1–13. Don’t read it merely to learn about prayer. Read it as someone who wants to become a person of prayer.
Ask God to show you what needs to change in your prayer life and then take time to pray today.
TODAY’S PRAYER
Lord, stir my heart to seek You, strengthen me to pray when I do not feel like it, and teach me to make prayer a faithful and consistent part of my life. Amen.
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