Psalm 13:1 – “How long, oh Lord, will you forget me forever?”
Psalm 10 – “Why do you hide yourself?”
Psalm 89 – “Where is your steadfast love?”
Can we be honest? Sometimes prayer is a struggle. It’s a struggle to know what to say? It can be a struggle to believe that God will answer your prayer. Sometimes it’s a struggle to keep praying when it’s been a while, and the answer hasn’t come. It’s always difficult when you don’t understand why.
I admire people who seem to have an unshakable faith. It doesn’t matter what they face, they seem to have this ability to trust God and know that God will take care of them. I have such deep respect for people like that. I want to be like that. But I also, know that this kind of faith is developed over the long haul. They didn’t get there overnight. They went through a lot of trials and difficulties. They prayed and waited on God. They repeatedly saw the faithfulness of God. As a result they are people with a deep and a mature faith.
There is a story in the OT. It’s a story about a woman who wanted to have a son. She prayed even though she was barren. I love 1 Samuel 1:12 because it says, “As she kept on praying to the Lord…”
This woman is amazing. Though she has not yet experienced from God what she desires, she continues to pray. She is determined. She is focused. Her faith is strong. She believes even though she doesn’t see an answer. She prays through her discouragement.
You can allow your discouragement to keep you from praying, or you can decide to pray though your discouragement.
Why do we struggle so much with prayer?
- Our faith is weak. The more we pray the more faith we develop.
- We view prayer as an emergency plan
- We need to develop our relationship – trust is the result of a deep relationship
1 John 5:14-15 – “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.”
Today’s Challenge: You may be in a season of life where you find it difficult to pray. Determine in your heart to keep going. Pray anyway Don’t let your current circumstances keep you from calling on God who hears and answers prayer.
Recommended Resource: Prayer: Does it Make any Difference? by Phillip Yancey
Visit the website: 5MinuteDiscipleship.com
Follow on social:
Facebook.com/5minutediscipleship
Instagram.com/5minutediscipleship
Click here to learn how you can start your own podcast.