1 Thessalonians 5:17 is rather short and to the point; it is only three (3) words long. There the Apostle Paul simply says, “pray without ceasing.”
Again and again the Word of God encourages believers to pray. And yet how many of us can honestly say that we don’t struggle with our prayer lives? Do any of us really pray without ceasing?
Do you believe that God answers prayer? If you are a Christian, I assume that you would answer that question with a resounding “Yes!” Don’t all Christians believe in prayer? If you say that you believe in prayer, allow me to ask you one more question: Do you pray? It is one thing to say that you believe in prayer, but it is another thing entirely to actually pray.
If we really believed that God hears and answers the prayers of His people, could anything keep us from praying? Would more of our churches not have regular prayer meetings? And would those prayer meetings not be some of the most well-attended assemblies in our churches?
I believe it is a sad testimony to our view of prayer (and so also, in a sense, of God’s ability or willingness to answer prayer) that we do not pray more regularly and fervently as churches. Did the Lord Jesus not say that His house was to be a “house of prayer” (Matthew 21:13)?
So let us devote ourselves to prayer! Pray for (and with) your family. Pray for (and with!) your friends. And devote yourself to praying with your brothers and sisters in the church. If your church has a regular prayer meeting, make it a point to be there if at all possible. If your church does not have a regular prayer meeting? Request one! Let the Lord’s house be a house of prayer!
And may God in His grace be pleased to bless, answer, and use your prayers for His glory this year and always!
Schreiberspace 
YES! I believe in prayer. Praise God for his mercies and his willingness and desire to listen to us. I talk to God off and on all day long, but I find I need to be quiet and listen, too!
P.S. I don’t usually like to give my e-mail, but I sang in choir with your mom for years! So, I will. My husband just started a blog and I know how much he would enjoy getting feedback. So, I will post my comment. May God bless you this coming year!
Hi Linda! Small world, isn’t it? 🙂
Thank you so much for taking the time to read and comment on this blog post. (Don’t worry – your email address is not public – no one sees it here but me.)
May our faithful Savior Jesus Christ greatly bless you & your family!
May we all think more about our prayer life. Love your phrase, “It is one thing to say that you believe in prayer, but it is another thing entirely to actually pray.” Thank you for your thoughts and encouraging hearts to pray! Blessings
Thank you for taking the time to read & comment.
That phrase both convicts and comforts me. God is certainly more willing to hear & answer the prayers of His redeemed than we are to pray to Him.
Oh how I wish that prayer weren’t such a difficult thing. Our flesh hates it so much because it’s supposed to be all about God & not ourselves & our nature just struggles to no end when we try to get the focus off ourselves.
I know I personally can focus for lengthy periods on studying scripture & commentaries etc, even videos or lectures on the bible but prayer is unlike any of those things because we don’t sense ‘instant results’ or something tangible that we can point to & say, this or that was learned.
We are such a drive through, fast food culture & prayer doesn’t fit into that framework so it’s constantly at odds with our habits & lifestyles to be quiet. To spend time communing with God & feel as though it was time well spent, that’s a struggle, not to mention our distracted minds.
Oh the list goes on & I’m afraid it’s an ongoing struggle for me & only occasionally do I really sense victory & believe I’ve really communicated with God in a meaningful way.
May God help His people be drawn into the prayer closet, not just out of duty but out of genuine desire to meet with God & believe that He hears & will meet us where we are.
Amen.
I find study (for the most part) easy. The “want to” is almost always there. But prayer? As our Lord Christ said, “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Mark 14:38).