Why We Suffer From Prayerlessness
There are many reasons why we fail to pray as we should, but I've learned that underlying all these is one principal reason. Find out what it is and how to address it in this short video.
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Someone said that if you want to humble someone, just ask them about their prayer life. There's some truth to that.
We all struggle with prayer. We are usually very undisciplined, very irregular in prayer. Sometimes we think we're doing ok, but other times, many times even, we fail to make time for it.
Now, there may be many reasons for that, but ultimately it boils down to a failure to appreciate the blessing and necessity of prayer.
There are two most basic disciplines in the Christian life. There are many disciplines, but none are as absolutely essential to discipleship as these two: Bible intake and prayer... Through Bible intake God speaks to us, and through prayer, we speak to God.
If we compare the believer to a baby, Bible intake is like a mother's milk. The apostle Peter refers to the "pure, spiritual milk" (1 Pet 2:2). Earlier in his life, he told the Lord, "Lord, to whome shall we go? You have the words of eternal life" (Jn 6:68). God's word is life to us believers. Deprive a believer of the word and his soul will shrivel up.
Now, continuing the illustration, if Bible intake is like mother's milk, prayer is like a baby's cry. God gave babies the ability to cry -- and what lungs they have! He did that for a reason. They have needs but their helpless. They need food but they can't get it own their own. They need to be safe but they have zero ability to defend themselves. So when they need something, the only thing they know how to do is to cry. They are absolutely dependent on their parents. ... Did you know that we are spiritual infants? We need spiritual nourishment but the only source for that is our heavenly Father. We need wisdom for living but anything we can think of on our own is foolish and so we need the guidance of the good Shepherd. We need protection from Satan, the world, and the flesh but we have zero resources on our own and God has it all so we need to go to him. We are fearful and anxious and we lack joy, and we need constant comfort and reassurance from God.
These two disciplines -- Bible intake and prayer -- are the most basic source of joy and power in the Christian life.
We fail to pray as we should because we forget this. There are seasons when we are consistent in prayer and it is such a season of fruit-bearing and nearness to the Lord. But then somehow we lose sight of that, and we slip back into prayerlessness and then pretty soon without realizing it we're spiritually malnourished.
