Welcome to our Wednesday Pep Talk. Open if you need a midweek motivation to keep praying!
I’m back with 5 more habits that are killing your prayer life! After reading all 10, I’d love to know if there are any others that came to mind. See last week’s here.
1. Expecting immediate results.
This is simple. If we pray once and stop because we don’t see anything change or feel anything electric, our prayer life will die on the table.
2. Putting faith in faith.
If we believe that having enough faith in faith is what makes a formula for God to say yes to your prayers, you’ll spend a lot of time doing the Christian version of trying to manifest an answer. If this sounds complicated, Tyler shared it in a sermon recently, and it was powerful. You can listen to it here. For now, just pray and ask God, is my faith in you or is my faith in how much faith I think I have or need to pull your strings?
3. Skipping confession.
We’ve got thanksgiving and requests on lockdown, maybe even praise but confession? It’s that part of prayer that gets watered down most days, IF we include it at all. We either assume He already knows it, or He’s tired of hearing the same things confessed. Wrong, buddy. Keep confessing. It’s for us, I believe, more than for God. Otherwise, we walk around accepting it as just a part of us instead of releasing it to the Lord and actually turning away from it. Grab a sheet of paper and go to town: write the small things and the big things and leave them at the feet of Jesus.
4. Waiting until Monday.
We do it with diets and workout plans, and we do it with prayer, too! Don’t wait! Today could be the turning point for your prayer life. “Monday” is never coming. Okay, technically, they do, but not in the utopian world we picture them in, with all their space for new habits and Spartan-sized energy.
5. Depending on your own words alone.
Before I wrote my book Pray Confidently and Consistently, I read the whole Bible looking for prayer and it blew me away! There are prayers EVERYWHERE! Weeping and lamenting prayers, trumpets and praise prayers, surrendered and fearful prayers. The words of Jesus, “Not my will, but your will be done” would never have crossed my lips had I not read them in Scripture. It’s just not my human instinct. Thank goodness for prayers in Scripture! Flip open to the Psalms and highlight all the prayers you want to pray.
PSALM PRAYER
Each week I share one verse as I read through chapters of Psalms of something I can pray over.
Psalm 46:1-3
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. ”
Lord, I feel the earth give way underneath me. The ground is shaky, and I have every reason to fear, but you are my refuge, my strength, and you are with me now. Help me not to fear. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
RESOURCE LIBRARY
Maybe the results aren’t immediate, but they are worth it! Here are 8 benefits our customers have mentioned as they pray consistently.
Also, you may enjoy this post on the Lord’s Prayer from a fresh perspective!
ASKING QUESTIONS
Last week, we asked, “Is my misery (and anxiety) of my own making?” This question and thoughts on the Diderot Effect, Hedonic Treadmill, and The Gap and the Gain rocked me a bit.
Next week, we’ll ask, “What does my lateness say about me?” I think you’ll be surprised by what we uncover.
Happy Wednesday, Friends! Genuinely, I am praying for you!
Val
Pastor Tyler's message was Holy Spirit led and timely, what a wonderful thought to ponder as a disciple and say to Jesus, I do believe, help my unbelief. The break down of the Our Father prayer was excellent, being raised w/the catholic religion the our father was standard as now a born again christian (44 years)I didn't raise our children to repeat/pray the prayer; a sweet reminder w/your post to pray (I did ask my adult children do you know the Our Father, do you pray it and both said YES and they like it. I like the fact this is scripture; the best fact. Thank you.
I am definitely guilty of skipping confession. Thank you for the reminders and motivation!