Recently, I heard something from a seasoned Christian that surprised me, yet made total sense.<\/p>\n
He said that, of all his years as a Christian, the one area of his walk with God that has consistently been the greatest struggle is prayer.<\/p>\n
It made sense to me because prayer is an area that I struggle with. It made sense because prayer is the most faith-filled act we perform as Christians<\/em><\/strong>. Prayer, in many ways,\u00a0is<\/em> our walk with God, our communion with Him; so it is <\/em>the fight of faith in many ways.<\/p>\n Why is this fight so hard for Christians? After all, we’re supposed to be people of faith, right? I can think of a lot of reasons, but here are two big ones:<\/p>\n When I realize that I\u2019ve gone a long time without praying, it\u2019s a red flashing light that alerts me to the fact that I\u2019ve been acting proudly and independently of God.<\/p>\n Lack of prayer is a sign that I\u2019m buying into the lie that Eve first bought into in Genesis 3:5\u2014\u201cyou will be like God.\u201d When I don\u2019t pray, I\u2019m saying that I think I can do it without God<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n This is actually another form of pride, but we don\u2019t always see it. \u00a0 The proud Christian doesn’t pray because they forget how much they need God. The despairing Christian doesn’t pray because he or she feels that they’re not worthy of God, or God isn’t helping them enough in the ways they need.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n There\u2019s a kind of prideful self-dependence that says, \u201cI\u2019m not good enough to come before God today, because of\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n God says to that kind of thinking, \u201cDid you think there was ever a time you could come before me on your own merit? [There\u2019s the pride\u2014ouch!] That\u2019s why you need to come through my Son, your great High Priest. So come boldly before me\u201d (see Hebrews 4:16).<\/p>\n The other form that prayer-less despair takes is a heart that says, \u201cGod won\u2019t or can\u2019t answer. God doesn\u2019t care. He doesn\u2019t really love me.\u201d It\u2019s a heart that says, \u201cGod, you\u2019re not enough for me!\u201d<\/p>\n To this, God says, \u201c\u2018I will never leave you nor forsake you.\u2019 So we can confidently say, \u2018The Lord is my helper. I will not fear.\u2019\u201d (Hebrews 13:5, 6).<\/p>\nA Heart of Pride<\/h2>\n
A Heart of Despair<\/h2>\n