All of us face the difficulty to pray at some point of our walk with the Lord. This is not new, for even the disciples fell asleep when the Lord asked them to pray. You may see it as physical sleeplessness, but with the Lord, everything has a spiritual impact. Therefore, understand that such times are indication that our faith has become sleepy and we need to refresh it. Overall, you will hear the same reasons coming up to explain why we find it hard to keep praying: unanswered prayers, not sure how to pray, getting bored or distracted while trying to pray, not sure God hears us or that our prayers will make a difference at all. Unfortunately, this causes lots of people to become prayer-seekers instead of prayer-warriors. My brother, my sister, the Bible says God is looking for someone to stand in the gap (Ezekiel 22:30) and that we should “pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests” (Ephesians 6:18). Now, if you find it hard to pray, may be it is because you have not yet understood that prayer is communication with God. What is communication? It is talking to someone and the person talks back to you, answers you! The truth is, God may not answer your request for something or a situation, but He could give you guidance about how to tackle it. But because people always expect a supernatural or physical manifestation to their prayers, they end up being discouraged or thinking He did not hear them, while they have not allowed the Lord to talk back to them, to give His opinion about their request. And, the Bible says: “whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours” (Mark 11:24). Now, let me clarify that you may be praying for the Lord to heal you or someone and that healing is still not coming. If you are praying in the Spirit and not with your passion or humanitarian desires, the Lord will first guide you and reveal to you what is stopping His answer from reaching you (may be there are unconfessed sins that are stopping this healing, etc.)… because there are always hidden things that the Lord is willing to reveal to us when we pray or intercede. But how can He do it when you are in control of your prayers and you want to be sincere with only what you choose and try to hide or ignore other things to Him who sees everything. And doing so, is just a way for you to limit the Spirit of God to a special guest appearance, when you even remember Him! The fact is, God listens to our innermost hearts, not what our filthy lips can sometimes utter that is not coming deep within us: God is not interested in long or perfect prayers but He is interested in prayers that authentically come from your heart. Besides, there is no point praying if you can’t make time for the Lord. And may be that’s where your problem could start finding a solution: every day, make a special time for prayer, as a routine (for a start, it can be 5 minutes to 1 hour)… as long as your heart is turned to Him, it will make a huge difference in your prayer life. Why? Because when your prayer is really focusing on Christ and not your needs or request, the Spirit will take control. That is the reason why it is important to sometimes turn your phone off, lock yourself in your room (Matthew 6:6), etc: that time should be your time alone with God! Jesus Himself showed us this example! Now, know that the Bible says “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). In other words, if your are struggling to pray for extended periods of time in one hit, you can pray 10-20 minutes at a time throughout the day. Also, include reading the Bible during your prayer sessions will help you focus. But overall, keep this in mind:”Do not be anxious about anything but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God and the peace of God will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7). And finally, never give up and never give in… just keep on praying until you see a breakthrough. God is faithful. May He strengthen your prayer life and faith from this day. Stay blessed in Jesus’ name. [facebook] [retweet]