Prayer Struggle

Good Morning,

Matthew 6:6 (NIV)
But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

I wonder sometime how many people are somewhat like me and have difficulty with prayer. It would be a huge undertaking to try to count the times in the Bible that prayer is mentioned. Needless to say, it would probably be in the thousands. Prayer is spoken of throughout the Old Testament, and, indeed, many of David's Psalms and in so many other places, the words that have been written were prayers sent up to God. In the New Testament Jesus talks of prayer quite often and we read of Him going off to pray and helping His disciples in their quest to know how to pray. The Epistles are filled with prayers and mentions of prayers by Paul, Peter, James, and John.

So, I wouldn't hesitate to say that prayer is an important part of our walk with God. I'm sure all would agree.

So then, why do so many of us have such a difficult time praying? This is, once again, one of those questions that I don't really have an answer to. The reason that you might have some difficulty in prayer is probably not the same reason that I might struggle with prayer. What I do know, however, is that even if we struggle with and have difficulty in praying, we need to constantly pray.

I think one important aspect of prayer is the fact that we do NOT have to be eloquent and flowery of speech in order to pray. As much as I love to listen to the prayers of those gifted in being able to pray beautiful prayers, I don't do it well. I mean, I find it very hard to find the words that I hear others so easily saying. I am so very pleased that God doesn't think it necessary for us all to be able to pray as we hear others pray. Another problem that affects people is that they feel so, well, so very insignificant and don't think that their prayers are important enough to be heard by the Creator of all the universe, our Lord, our King. That, again, just isn't true. Though I struggle, I know that my prayers are heard with the same importance and given the same priority as any other believer who offers up prayer to God.

I think, I really believe, that today's verse of Scripture is especially meaningful for those of us who struggle with our prayer life. You see, Jesus tells us that we are to "go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father." This instruction is multi fold, I'm sure, but today it speaks to me and tells me that I don't have to be all that I might think in order to pray. No one will see me in my prayers. No one will hear me in my prayers. No one will judge me by the quality of my prayers. No one will even know that I'm praying. Well, except for the ONLY one that truly matters...God.

So, today and for all our days, let those of us who struggle with our prayer lives remember that their is only one that we should think about when we pray.

He knows our hearts. He hears our prayers. He loves us.

Love, peace, and blessings,

David