12/21/2018
Do you want to improve your prayer life, to pray in joy, to pray without ceasing, or to find the ear of God with your words... but try as you might you fall short of during your attempts? Do you find yourself going through the motions as you retreat to your prayer closet only to return empty and unsatisfied? Perhaps the problem isn’t in your praying at all... perhaps it is in your faith.
“Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.”
Romans 7:24-25 ESV
Prayer finds its way to the ear of God, the Holy Spirit helps us as we pray, and Jesus does intercede for us, but sometimes the sins we have committed, or are in the midst of, attempt to rob us of realizing our joy in coming before God. We allow our flesh to resist the grace that God has provided. We lose faith in God’s ability to forgive because we find the conviction of sin overshadows our feeling of penitence. In other words... we want to punish ourselves and believe we are unworthy of God’s grace... we doubt that God can defeat sin in us, and we let our lack of faith divide us from the victory that lies in His mercy, and likewise in our prayers.
Faith is our good soil, it is where our prayers take root and flourish; it is the rich ground on which we cast our hope... knowing it will spring forth with much life. When we doubt in prayer it is because we are experiencing doubt in our faith itself. Jesus tells us to hold to our faith and in it we will bear fruit... are you willing to trust in him?
“As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.”
Luke 8:15 ESV
Just as having faith in God, and Jesus will allow us to bear fruit, so will having that same measure of faith in our prayers, but many find that the faith they once grasped has been pried from their hands by doubt and not believing fully in the Word of God, or, saying this another way... allowing their flesh and the world to win out in their struggle for faith.
“And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away. And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature.”
Luke 8:13-14 ESV
So if you are feeling unsatisfied in your prayer life turn to your faith. Believe in God, and seek His truth, it will form the foundation for your prayers. Praying is seeking... we are reaching out to God, and through our faith we know and believe we will touch Him.
“And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”
Hebrews 11:6 ESV
Faith and prayer; attempting one without the other is like casting it on the rock. So which comes first? Must we believe to pray, or pray to believe? The answer is that they walk side by side. We come to faith in the midst of prayer... do you remember the moment you first believed... and prayed? So if one of these appears to be lacking in your life turn to the other for strength and relief. If you feel your faith waning, then pray. If you feel your prayer life slipping... believe and have faith and His Holy Spirit will help you pray.
Pray:
Father, I thank you for the mustard seed of faith, and the voice of prayer that you first gave me. I thank you for my faith that reassures me in prayer, and my prayers that bolster my faith. I kneel before you Holy Father as I lift up my face in full faith that you not only hear me, but respond to my voice. I know that my hands, raised in prayer, will find yours as you lift me to you, and comfort me. Help me Lord to overcome my doubts, and fears, as I pray. Give my prayers wings, and my faith strength as I call out to you. Thank you for your Son Jesus Christ who teaches me to pray and intercedes for me, and thank you for your Holy Spirit that prays in my stead when I am at a loss for words. You are Merciful Father, and never leave me without a way of praying, or without at least a seed, a modicum, of faith. Your grace defeats all sin, and your desire to forgive me far exceeds my false belief that I need to punish myself as I seek your release from that sin. In you I find my unworthiness is dissolved in your grace, and my doubts dashed and overcome by the faith you raise up in me. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you my God who hears my faithful prayers and fulfills all promises. Praised be your name now and forevermore! Glory to you my God!
“do not be anxious about anything, 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 your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:6-7 ESV
Rich Forbes