by Jonathan Hawks
I am guilty and I must confess. I do so with the hope that my openness will encourage others. Of what am I guilty? I do not pray. Perhaps you are shocked after reading that. No, I’m not saying that I never pray. I do say prayers. But there is a difference between saying a prayer and praying. I do not know of any verses in the Bible where we are instructed to say a prayer. God tells us to pray. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says, “Pray without ceasing.” The burden of the guilt I feel for ignoring that verse is too heavy for me. Are you sinking beneath its weight as well?
I recently listened to a sermon preached about the sin of prayerlessness. The Holy Spirit spoke to me so much that I couldn’t ignore it. I realized that I needed to spend more time on my knees, confessing my own sin, asking God’s forgiveness, and praising Him. I need to quit saying a prayer and start praying. Far too often, I have just gone to Him when things were not going well. I would run to Him to ask for help in getting me out of the situations that I had gotten myself into by ignoring His will in the first place.
There’s nothing wrong with asking God for help. We should do that. But, every prayer shouldn’t just be us focusing on ourselves and our problems. Our prayer should include praying for others, but also praising God for all that He has already done in our lives. If He never did another thing for us, He would still deserve our praise for making a way for us to be saved from the wages of our sin.
Are you, too, guilty? Have you got so caught up in the rush of life that you spend very little time in prayer? So often we say a quick prayer and move on. But, if we expect the power of God in our lives, we must spend some time seeking God. All of the great men and women of God who were in the center of His will, serving faithfully, had a secret: They were faithful in prayer.
by Jonathan Hawks