During a season of starting new routines, new habits, and new goals, why not start a habit of daily, focused prayer? Often, our prayer lives consist of a fleeting thought towards God or a pleading cry amidst crises. But prayer isn’t just something to sprinkle into your daily routine or a lifeline in turmoil. You were made for a life in prayer. David Benner wrote, “God is the only context in which our being makes sense.”
Twice a year, we set aside time as a church for focused prayer. Why? Because if you look through all of church history and scripture, you won’t be able to find a significant move of God that wasn’t preceded by focused, fervent prayer.
Prayer is evidence of our dependence on God, the Creator of the Universe, and an admission that our best efforts at self-sufficiency and self-improvement are futile. We have a deep, intrinsic need for God. We were made for relationship with Him, and no relationship can thrive without communication.
Psalm 73:26 says, “My flesh and my heart may fail, but you are the strength of my life and my portion forever.”
Jesus taught his disciples to pray in Matthew 6. He started his prayer with, “Our Father in Heaven,” showing the dual nature of God: relationally close and yet infinitely powerful.
Maybe you’re struggling to believe prayer really makes a difference.
Maybe it seems like a waste of time, or you feel like you don’t need God’s help.
Maybe your sin is causing you to relate to God on the basis of your inadequacy rather than His sufficiency.
There are countless things that could keep us from praying, but maybe the thing that is keeping us from praying the most is the knowledge that prayer is going to change us before it changes our circumstances.
We were made for a life of prayer because we were made for life with God. For prayer to transform us, it has to become more than just an obligation or last resort. But how does that happen?
It all starts with an awareness of God.
Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, Lean not on your own understanding, In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.”
We can acknowledge God in every breath that we take. In even the most mundane of tasks, take a moment to acknowledge Him for who He is and all that He has done for you.
As we acknowledge God, we are cultivating the awareness of Him and who He created us to be. We accept His unceasing invitation to prayer.
For 21-days, we’ll take 10-minutes to pray through a verse of Hebrews 11 on the In Motion podcast. New episodes are posted daily at 5:00 AM.
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