Over two decades of ministry, I have found that the hardest event to get people to attend is the prayer gathering (prayer services or pre-service prayer meetings). I have no doubt that this aligns with the struggles most Christians face in their personal prayer lives. Over the next few weeks, I would like to examine the myriad of reasons that we struggle to pray and conclude with the encouraging reasons why God loves to answer prayer.

Speaking with Christians, we sometimes struggle to pray because we do not value prayer. Because we can feel as though we are speaking into the ether, we don’t see the importance of prayer. It feels like we aren’t doing something. We feel it is much better to take action and attempt to deal with life and its difficulties on our own. We fail to recognize the power that we tap into when we pray. The God of the universe delights in responding to our prayers. When I attempt to deal with life and its problems on my own, I quickly discover that I can control very little. Prayer connects us with the One who controls all.

Sometimes we don’t pray because we know that we are struggling with sin. We feel as though God will not listen to us because of our struggle. This is both a correct and an incorrect sentiment. If we willingly continue in sin, love it, and give ourselves to it, Psalm 66:18 informs us that God will not listen to our prayers. 1 Peter 3:12 informs husbands that their prayers will be hindered if they do not love and treat their wives as God calls them to do. If you willingly live in sin, you will not pray. And if you do pray, God will not listen. However, if you are battling sin, fighting to overcome it, God longs to hear your prayers. 1 John 1:9 reminds us that it is right for God to forgive us. You will never be qualified in and of yourself to pray. If you wait until you have completely overcome sin to pray, you will never pray. Instead, recognize Christ’s forgiveness and come to God in prayer.