Persevering in Prayer

I think most Christians struggle with prayer at least once during their lives.

For me, I grew up with difficulty motivating myself to pray because I had the misbelief that prayer is a list of requests and thanks, not a real conversation. And no matter what, it had to be boring.

When discussing prayer with other believers in my life, I hear of many other reasons why prayer can be difficult for them. Perhaps you can relate to a few of these reasons…

• God didn’t answer your prayer in the way you wanted
• You feel disappointed after praying
• Life is going well even when you don’t pray (or perhaps it feels like it goes better when you aren’t focused on God)
• You don’t have time to pray
• If God knows everything already, then why pray? Seems like a waste of His time
• You don’t know how to pray to God — after all, He’s the creator of the universe, that’s a bit intimidating

Or maybe your reason is entirely different. All of these reasons are valid…but they need to be understood and worked upon, not permanent excuses that create roadblocks in your relationship with God.

Dealing with Disappointment

If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.

Matthew 21:22

This verse feels so encouraging as a young Christian. I can ask for anything? Even a mountain to fall into the ocean? Even for an impossible healing? Even for all my dreams to come true?

But then, when life doesn’t go as planned, this verse becomes irritating, even angering. Am I praying wrong? Why isn’t prayer working?

Jesus never lies. However, sometimes we don’t quite understand what He means.

Before approaching this verse, it’s important to have a clear understanding of what prayer should be:

1. A bonding time with God
2. A time for requests, thanksgiving, praise, and repentance to take place
3. Transformative

You should never feel guilty for praying. God wants to be in communication with you. Jesus sacrificed everything so that we could have the Holy Spirit, our advocate, in prayer and in relationship with the Trinity. You are not wasting God’s time with your requests.

A few months ago, I was really having a hard time knowing what to say to God. Prayer journaling was easier for me, but that was all me talking*. When I bowed my head and closed my eyes, there was this tension preventing me from speaking from my heart.

*(Side note: I still highly recommend prayer journaling! It’s great to diversify the ways you pray)

During the “repentance” portion of my prayer, I would simply say, “God, I’m sorry for my sins. Please forgive me for my sins”. But then I started asking God for help in specific areas of my life. I invited God into the spaces I was ashamed of, the places where my mistakes were hiding.

There are times when I still struggle with being vulnerable with God. But thanking God for characteristics that are given in the Bible, such as His grace and mercy and love, help my heart to turn back to Him and remember that I am not alone on the journey to becoming who He created me to be.

Going back to Matthew 21:22, the Greek word for “receive” is “lambanō”. There are several definitions of this word. One is “to take, to take up”. I imagine that when we really believe in what we are asking God, He will receive our prayer. It will be taken up to Him.

Another definition is “sustain”. Prayer is meant to change us. It can change our desires, our feelings, our outlooks. It can change the course of our lives.

But even as we wait for those longer term things to change, we can transform from the inside out. Prayer can give us peace. It can sustain us during the toughest storms.

Instead of feeling disappointed in your prayer life, go into prayer time with the hope that you will come out with a closer relationship with God and a feeling of peace. Ask God what He wants you to receive from your time together.

As with everything, growing in your prayer practice will take time. But don’t give up — it will be worth it.

“Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? ¹² Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? ¹³ If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!

Luke 11:11-13

*All Greek translations come from the MOUNCE Greek Translation on BibleGateway.