Problems In Prayer
What keeps us from praying, and from praying rightly
There is first of all, a lack of praying - of spending time personally, privately, in our own closets in quiet and devotion, or intercession. We do not watch and pray as we have been instructed, and so fall asleep.
What hindrances might keep us from praying?
Moods, we don’t often pray because we just don’t feel like it.
Busyness, we are involved too much in excessive activity.
Public prayer, there is too little public prayer in the Church to teach us to pray.
Worldliness, our minds and souls are too full of the world to be hungry for God.
The sin of prayerlessness is a proof…..that the life of God in the soul is in deadly sickness and weakness. Andrew Murray
There are secondly, hindrances to our praying rightly, perhaps because of:
asking from selfish pleasure (James 4:3)
sin that separates us from God (Isaiah 59:2)
idols in our hearts (Ezekiel 14:3)
stinginess (Proverbs 21:13)
unforgiveness (Mark 11:25)
how we treat our spouse (1 Peter 3:7)
unbelief or doubting (James 1:5-7)
Jesus tells us ask, so, let us ask! But when we do ask, when we do pray, let us watch out that these things would not keep us from praying and asking rightly.
We may also be hindered in praying and praying rightly by pride, by failing to abide in Christ, by failing to asking according to God’s will, by having lost our first love, by praying hypocritically. Brothers and sisters in the Lord, let us cast off these things in order to pray and pray rightly - and in order to cast off these hindrances, we must pray!
What prayer most often changes is the wickedness and the hardness of our own hearts. R.C. Sproul
Pray For Prayer Help
Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Romans 8:26
Lord we ask for help in praying. As the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, we also ask the Spirit of the Living God to help us to pray.
We are so weak and needful, not knowing how to pray rightly.
We are thankful for Your Word and we pray from it, and we are grateful to pray in the Spirit with all kinds of prayers and requests.
We ask this day O Lord, that you help Your people everywhere to pray as we ought. Amen
Pray For The People Of God From The Word Of God
Here are three passages we are praying from this week (one passage per day):
Monday - Luke 11:1
Tuesday - Luke 11:10
Wednesday - Luke 11:13
Will you join me in praying these verses, and ask one person to join you?
Until Thursday, grace and peace
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