Prayer Problems: Practice - 4 Relying on God in Prayer

Focus passage: Luke 11:11-13

A child should never have to ask for a roof over their head, for food or clothing or even the chance to go to school. It is what they should know that their parents will give them gladly based on their parent’s character and love for them. The second parable in this text is about God’s character. His children don’t have to beg Him for help. They know that God wants to give His children more than they could ever ask for. They know His love for them and eagerly come to Him for help.  

Prayer Problems: Practice - 3 Persistence Pays Off

Focus passage: Luke 11:1-13

When I was a music student, I found some passages had to be practiced over and over. It wasn’t good enough to come close to the music on the page, I needed to get it right. I had to be in sync with the accompanist or those I was singing with. Sometimes, we pray as if we care less what the result is. “Lord, heal John or help Sally. If you don’t, I guess that it is OK.” In the first parable, Jesus shows a man whose persistence pays off. He gets what he wants. Jesus’ point is that we should pray with persistence as well.

Prayer Problems: Practice - 2 Let It Be Natural

Focus passage: Luke 11:1-13

The hardest part for me of playing the piano is that a good pianist seemingly plays without a lot of effort. When they want to play a “C” chord, their left hand move effortlessly to those notes. When they want to play a scale, the right hand knows exactly what fingering to use. 

They have practiced until playing becomes so natural that they don’t have to consciously think about what their hands are doing. Such a pianist gets there by practice. Prayer becomes more natural as we practice it as well. We want our prayers to just flow out of us and not be labored.

Prayer Problems: Practice - 1 Prayer Is Caught, Not Taught

Focus passage: Luke 11:1-13

I am amazed at how often Jesus can be found praying. There are eight instances that I know of in Luke alone. You would have thought that Jesus didn’t need to pray.

Yet somehow prayer seems essential in His ministry. It is as if He needs the time with the Father if He is to go on. I shouldn’t be surprised. I find that I need prayer. It calms me down helping me with my worries and fears. It brings me confidence so that I try things I might otherwise shy away from. Maybe the disciples saw that in Jesus. Maybe that was the reason that they asked Him to teach them to pray. They saw the connection that He had with the Father and they wanted that for themselves. They never asked Jesus to teach them how to preach or do miracles. They just wanted Him to teach them how to pray.

Prayer Problems: Getting Started With Confidence

If you have not been active in prayer, getting started can seem like a major problem. 

Let’s face it. You are talking to a God that you can’t see and struggle to hear. You often need Him most at the times when you are struggling and your life is about to go down the drain. You throw up a prayer to heaven and wonder if any one heard you.

If that sounds like your prayer experience, take a deep breath and realize that you are not alone. The problem is that prayer is talking to God and most of us are not very good at talking to strangers. Our experience is like talking to a stranger at the Department of Motor Vehicles when you have lost your car title. You don’t know this person at all and you desperately need the stranger’s help. So let’s go through a few things that can help you.

Prayer Problems: Power - 4 Do I Give Up Too Easy?

Focus passage: 1 Kings 18:41-46

I prayed for family night and none of the people I had invited came. I sat by a friend in the hospital who we had been praying about for weeks, but he only seemed to get worse. 

I began to wonder if it was not God’s will that our outreach would have success or that Jack was going to get better. How many times should I pray? How many times do I keep saying the same words toward heaven without getting the results that I so desperately want? Elijah doesn’t let go. He kept on praying even though there had not been a drop of water in three and a half years.

Prayer Problems: Power - 3 Will I Risk Myself?

Focus passage: 1 Kings 18:16-24

I wrestle with putting myself on the line. 

I may pray that someone I know comes to faith. Will I risk our friendship to actually say something about Jesus to them or am I too afraid that they will push me away? Will I stand up for what I believe when people trash God or just pray that the Holy Spirit will change their hearts? Earlier, God had told Elijah to hide himself during the famine. Now it was time to present himself and put his whole life on the line.

Prayer Problems: Wednesday Discussions

I want to thank those of you who made comments or posed questions on prayer. I would like to focus on a question that Leslie posed. She wrote, “I often wonder if I am praying for the right thing.” That is a great question and it deserves an answer.

There are often times when we pray and nothing happens making us wonder if there is something wrong with our prayer. After all, we think that if the prayer is good, that God will surely give us what we are looking for because God is powerful enough to do everything and is a loving God who wants to help us. Three thoughts help me when I face that question.

Prayer Problems: Power - 2 Do I Believe Enough to Pray?

Focus passage: 1 Kings 17:1-24

I want to pray with faith, but I sometimes find that hard.

The problems of our world seem so big. The pains of those I am called to minister to seem so impossible. I find that I still need to grow in my faith if my prayer is to be very powerful. What is comforting is that Elijah had to grow in his faith before he was ready to change the world with prayer. God helped him grow because you don’t send someone out against 850 false prophets unprepared.

"Prayer Problems": Power - Is Prayer Worth Anything?

Focus passage: 1 Kings 18:16-38

I felt humbled and more than a little ashamed when I read this section on Elijah and prayer.

He believed so strong while I sometimes struggle believing God will work miracles with my prayers. It isn’t that I don’t pray. It is just that I don’t think that I have the confidence that Elijah has in prayer. I accept the power that prayer has, but I sometimes don’t act like I really believe it. I want to pray like Elijah. Three things strike me about Elijah’s prayer.