“Until now you have asked for nothing in my name,
ask that you may receive that your joy may be made full.” John 16:24
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Prayer is a difficult challenge these days. Time, distractions, hobbies, lack of relational conviction, temptations, and personal sin issues all contribute to a prayer-less life. But, some will say, “So what? God is working out His purpose; why do I need to worry about praying?” To simply say the Bible places a high priority on prayer does not work for many people – they are more interested in how much work God does for them. So how do we improve our prayer life? Here are some common issues that kill prayer for many people:

1) Remember God is a real person – Any healthy relationship demands communication. I was convinced many, many years ago…and I still am in many ways, that many people see prayer as a religious exercise instead of communication with a real person. People would not say this but it is clear in the way some people pray there is little or no expectation that they believe God will actually intervene or be involved in the events of that person’s life. Remember you are communicating with a real person; a very unique person.

2) Why expect God to be involved at all if we don’t invite Him. Now I realize this raises numerous questions about God’s sovereignty, immanence, and His actual involvement in our daily lives. While I believe God will carry out His purpose, “regardless of what we do,” I firmly believe that God guides us into the synergy of His workings when we seek Him and come to Him in faith (Hebrews 11:6; James 4:7-8). There is a profound work of ministry that God reserves for those willing to pursue hard after Him and willing to trust Him to use them in ways that is different than those just coasting through life. God will flesh out His will but He might use others instead of us if we are not interested.

3) God is not a concierge service. I think this is a huge problem in our culture today. Driven by high levels of entitlement, selfishness, and even laziness, there are many who want God to meet needs, fix problems, and orchestrate a great comfortable life for them. Those same people have no sense of gratitude or faith toward God; instead people have an unusual set of demands and expectations and think that God is the one who must come through for them: “God exists to make my life profitable and comfortable if He really is a God of love.” Hezekiah (2 Chronicles 32:24-25) is a good example of this kind of person. The text says, “But Hezekiah gave no return (no response) for the many kind things the Lord had done for him. So the LORD became angry with him…” Well, he might not be the only one.

4) God will not respond if we have wrong motives. Psalm 66:18 says that if I regard wickedness in my heart the Lord will not hear. James 4:3 says, “you ask but you do not receive because you ask with wrong motives….” Many people get angry with God because He does not seem to cooperate. How can God not do this? How can this not possibly be His will? There are many very legitimate issues where people are begging God to intervene for the sake of someone else and God works differently than we would expect. It may be the case that we often have more selfish motives in prayer than we are even willing to recognize. Remember that all things work together for good to those who love Him.

Pastor Brad