If you were to stop for a moment and take inventory of your prayer life, what would be the result? We can all do better when it comes to spending quality time with the Lord. Satan would like nothing more than to keep us barren and unproductive in life. If he can keep us from having an intimate relationship with our heavenly Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, he has succeeded at what he has set out to accomplish. As Christians, often times we fail to have the level of intimacy with God that is required to bring forth results.
Answers await us in the presence of the Lord, but if we don't spend time in prayer we will never see the promises of God come to pass in our lives. I've listed some common hindrances to developing a strong prayer life that brings forth results.
1. Busy Schedules - We feel as though we are too busy to pray or we just don't have the time. Sometimes our family duties, jobs, and even church commitments keep us from taking the time to pray. To become a person of prayer, we must be willing to slow down and prioritize our time. A pray-er is a person who is willing to set aside a portion of time each day to spend time with God.
2. Lack of Knowledge - It's not that people don't know that they need to pray, they just don't know how to pray. Some fail to pray because they feel that they don't know how to go about it; they are intimidated by the thought of praying. Prayer is much simpler than most people realize. It is as simple as having a conversation with God, where you share with Him what is on your heart and you listen to what is on His heart as well.
3. Laziness - We are too lazy to pray. Some of us just want God to do everything for us. We don't want to put forth any effort to have what we want in life or what God has promised us in His Word. We are not willing to lay our lives down in prayer for our family, friends, the body of Christ, or even for ourselves. But we must discipline our flesh and remember, laziness equals prayerlessness and prayerlessness equals fruitlessness.
4. Wrong Thinking - We think God is mad at us. Many of us have believed the lies of the enemy who has convinced us that God is angry with us for one reason or another. He tries to make us think that God is waiting to punish us for everything we do wrong, so we lack the confidence we need to go before him in prayer. But even when we fall short, we can still go boldly before the throne of grace. God's throne is not a throne of judgment; it is a throne of grace and mercy to help us in our times of need. Satan is also a liar. We must resist his lies at their onset and press on to become people of prayer. God is in love with us, and He longs to be intimately acquainted with us.
5. Conditions of the Heart - We are too angry to pray. Some of us are full of anger, rage, bitterness, or resentment toward our loved ones or toward God because of the way things have turned out in our life. Moreover, since God allowed certain things to happen, we feel that we cannot trust Him. However, the Word tells us to be angry but sin not, and that we should never let the sun go down until we have dealt with whatever has made us angry (Eph 4:26). God is a big God. He can handle our anger and any other emotions we may have. However, we must go to Him and pour out our hearts to Him and be willing to walk in love and forgiveness.
God desires to spend time with His children. If you can identify with one of the hindrances listed above, don't be discouraged. With a willing heart God can help you overcome every hindrance that holds you back and keeps you from experiencing all that He has for you in the wonderous realm of prayer. When the hindrance has been dealt with, you can have the kind of prayer life that bears fruit and brings forth results.
This excerpt was taken from Chapter 5 of my book Pray-ers Bear Fruit.
Blessings,
Kathy
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