Perseverance in Prayer
By Kellye Carmack
A friend recently shared with me that she had grown complacent in her prayer life. Where she once felt a passion and excitement for prayer she now felt tired and unmotivated. Knowing that prayer is pivotal for her ministry and personal growth she was desperate to get out of what she called a “prayerless rut”. “What do you do,” she asked, “when you don’t feel like praying?”
It’s a common question and one that most of us have asked at some point in our Christian walk. We have all been in a place where prayer feels more like a chore than a privilege. Just do a quick internet search and you will find tons of articles with practical tips on how to pray when you don’t feel like praying. It’s evident that many people have asked (and googled) my friend’s question.
Before offering any suggestions, I wanted to help her figure out why she was struggling. Sometimes there’s a specific reason we lose motivation to pray (personal sin, discouragement, prolonged suffering). It can be helpful to identify and deal with that reason before moving forward. Other times the reason is simply that we live in a broken world and we don’t always desire what is good for us.
Whatever the reason we all experience dry seasons in our prayer life and we need help bringing it back to life. I have found that when I struggle to pray it is because I don’t believe my prayers will be heard. For years I have prayed for desires that have not been fulfilled and that leaves me feeling as though my prayers have gone unheard. It’s easy to allow my experience to speak louder than truth from God’s word. I have to be diligent to remind myself of what is true. Today I want to share three truths that I have found helpful to preach to myself when I don’t feel like praying.
God Can Do More Than We Ask
God is able to do “immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine” (Ephesians 3:20). Whatever we ask of God in prayer, not only can He do it, He can go above and beyond what we have asked. It’s confusing when He doesn’t always work the way we hope He will, but don’t forget that He is a mighty God with great power. When you pray, you are going before a sovereign, good God who has no limits.
Prayer Changes Us
Prayer will mature and strengthen you. Just like plants need water to grow, we need prayer to grow into mature believers in Christ. While it may be slow and gradual (it usually is), prayer produces the fruits of the Spirit in our lives. Every time you pray you are watering your soul and giving the Holy Spirit an opportunity to make you look more like Christ.
God Invites Us to Pour Out Our Hearts to Him
Isn’t it refreshing to go to lunch with a close friend and feel the freedom to share everything with them? Prayer is an invitation to pour your heart out to God (Psalm 62:8). You can tell Him every detail of what is happening in your life. Tell Him every doubt you have, every fear that is weighing you down. You don’t have to pretend with Him. God welcomes you to express every emotion and every thought that is swirling around in your mind. What will happen when you do? The psalmist says that our souls will find rest in Him (Psalm 62 verses 1 and 5).
If you are a pastor’s wife or a woman in ministry you know the vital role prayer plays in the health of your family and your church. That doesn’t, however, mean that you are immune to going through seasons when prayer is hard. It might even be harder for you than for others because you are right on the front of enemy lines. If you are in that season be encouraged that no matter how you feel, He hears you when you pray. You can rest rest in His grace and trust Him to guide you out of your ‘prayerless rut’ and into a season of more fruitful communion with Him.
Kellye Carmack is the Women’s Ministry Director for Practical Shepherding. She has an undergraduate degree in Biblical Studies and a master’s degree in Biblical Counseling. She served as a missionary in Western Europe for two years helping to share the hope of Christ with women in difficult situations. While in seminary, she met her husband Craig and they are both on staff at their church in Louisville, KY. She loves helping women discover the unique ways God has gifted them to serve the church.