The Necessity of Prayer
Read: Matthew 6:5-12
What would you give for financial skill, intellect or influence? Imagine what you could do for the Kingdom of
God if you had those three gifts! In
doing God work, these things would be assets but they would be nothing without
prayer. There is no substitute for
praying, “No learning can make up for the
failure to pray. No earnestness, no
diligence, no study, no gifts will supply its lack” (E.M. Bounds). Jesus left the destiny of the church to men of
prayer, as the apostles were primarily ordinary, unschooled men who made prayer
their classroom. As important as
education, wealth and business are, they on their own aren’t enough. Yes, God uses these things for His Kingdom
and uses people who are gifted in these areas but imagine the potential when
those gifts are linked with prayer! People
of prayer are indispensable for the furtherance of the Kingdom of God on
earth. Many people spend all their time
and energy working on becoming influential in the wrong areas and remain small
in prayer. If we are to build His
Kingdom here on earth and take in the great harvest at the end of the age then
we must be people of prayer. This is
God’s business and He has given us the resources of prayer for such a task. This will require patience, endurance,
perseverance and courage. Many give up
in prayer because they don’t know what to pray, they don’t know what to say to
God, their prayers feel dry and boring.
But don’t give up, there is no such thing as a wasted prayer. In order to grow in prayer you have to just
keep praying. It’s not something you can
learn from a textbook, it’s something you learn by doing.
PRAYER AND MEDITATION
- Do you sometimes feel like giving up on prayer? Talk to God about this; write in your journal how you feel about prayer.
- Through listening prayer, ask Jesus to show you if you have been depending on other spiritual gifts or maybe even your own talents and wisdom, instead of taking things to Him in prayer. Confess as necessary.
- Ask the Lord to strengthen you to keep on in prayer, to endure, to persevere and to stay motivated to pray.
