WHY PRAYER IS HINDERED, pt 4.
Yes, it’s Thursday and we’re on part 4 in our current blog series… Please take time to quickly review the previous blogs.
We’re revealing the reasons as to why prayer is hindered. God is doing some neat and wonderful things in IMPACT Church – and prayer has been the key. I’m on a mission to create a culture of prayer in our church. It’s only through prayer that we will manifest the promises of God!
So, here is reason #4 as to why prayer is hindered… Yeah, I know… some of you wont like this one either.
4. Being Sleepy and Sloppy
The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. (1 Pet. 4:7)
- If Satan can’t hinder your prayers, then he will try to hinder you from prayer. Remember the five virgins who were asleep and had no oil. Busyness, distractions, worries, cares of the world, cell phones, Internet, hobbies, meals, sports, events—the list is endless of all the things that can stop you from praying.
- Peter said that we should be sound and sober for the purpose of prayer because the end of all things is at hand. This refers to someone who is wide-awake, calm, and focused. Satan is a master at putting us to sleep in prayer. Peter should know what he’s talking about, because he fell asleep three times in the garden of Gethsemane!
- The solution is to fuel the fire of prayer with a sense of urgency. If the end of all things is near, then it is not time to relax. We must be like the workers and warriors in Nehemiah who were “with one hand doing the work and the other holding a weapon” (Neh. 4 17 ).
Pray church… PRAY!
We need to stay awake and don’t fall asleep because that will stop you from getting your purpose. we need to stay focus and don’t let satan or the world get in your way.
Hm, yes. Guilty as charged. In all honesty this has become more of a daily challenge for me than anything else-but no matter what our life’s schedules are like, we always need to put some aside for prayer. It needs to take priority over everything else in our lives.
I have been there many times when I have been caught up in something else which has caused me to loose focus. My prayer is that I stay focus and prioritize prayer to always be first in my life. My main responsibility is to Pray.
It is hard for me to consistently pray due to many of the excuses listed in the blog. If there is an urgency in me to pray, then all those things would be secondary to my time with God. I need to have the urgency and desire to pray not out of obligation, but because I want to and I know it is my responsibility.
Is just like the soldiers of Gideon the 300 soldiers were always ready to fight at all times, they were always in an attitude of urgency and they were never lazy. I think God choses those who are always ready to become his warriors. Then consistent prayer is like a soldier sharpening his sword, because he is always ready in and out of season.
Prayer is not an option. It is a necesity. I am not a night owl and many times I do fall asleep at night when I am praying. It is important to set aside a time with God to pray. Even for me if it means waking up earlier. Prayer is about impacting the world around us and being part in God’s movement.