Why Do We Struggle to Pray?

March 13, 2025

“Pray without ceasing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16 NASB95)

How would your life change if you prayed without ceasing?  How would your family’s life change?  If you prayed without ceasing, how would it impact your brothers and sisters in Christ?  How would your prayers impact the world? 

We all know that prayer is vital to a healthy relationship with God, and I’m sure that we all would like to be more devoted to it, and yet we often fall short of the prayer life we desire.  Why do we sometimes struggle to pray?  Perhaps it is because we have some doubts about the effectiveness of prayer.  It may be that you prayed your heart out over something or someone in the past, and you didn’t see that it made a difference.  Perhaps it is because we don’t feel like we’re “doing” anything when we pray and that our time would be better spent with other pursuits.  Perhaps it is because we feel that we are saying the same thing over and over again to God.  Let’s briefly examine some of these difficulties.

If prayer is powerful, why is it that sometimes our prayers seem to have no effect?  The truth is that our prayers may have had profound effects that we cannot immediately see.  We will not always know the impact our prayers had on the heart of a person.  We will not always know how our prayers impacted a situation.  Some of these things we may not see until we are on the other side of eternity.  Ask yourself this: How would the situation have turned out if you had not prayed?  We will never know the answer to that question with certainty.  We often pray for people to change their hearts or actions, or to come to know the Lord (and these are wonderful prayers!).  When praying for people, we must remember that God will never override someone’s free will and force them to change their ways.  But we can always pray that God will soften their hearts or provide opportunities for the truth to reach them.

What about the feeling that our time would be better spent “doing” rather than “praying?” It is true that there is a time for prayer and a time for action, but let’s remember that prayer is a great source of power behind our actions.  Our Lord knew this to be true.  He was always very busy teaching, preaching, and healing, yet He always prioritized prayer.  He even prioritized prayer over sleep as He would rise very early in the morning to pray, or even pray all night long.  It is clear that Jesus saw prayer as an absolute essential part of His life and ministry.  How much more do we need to rely upon it?

Finally, what about this feeling that you are saying the same things over and over to God?  First of all, let’s realize that this is not a bad thing at all, as long as those prayers are sincere.  There are many things that we need to say to God every single day, and they can be said in a heartfelt way.  Let me also suggest a practice that has been helpful to me over the years: praying the scriptures.  What I mean by that is to merge your Bible study with your prayers.  When you hear the word of God, pray about the things you have heard.  Let the words of scripture sink into your heart, and speak to God about what He has said, asking Him to help you live out His words.  In this way you will have an inexhaustible treasury of things to speak to the Lord about that come right from the scriptures. 

Let us always pray!  God works powerfully through prayer!

—Scott Colvin

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Quietness and Solitude

July 23, 2024

We live in a noisy, rushed world.  Doesn’t it seem like the pace of life is ever accelerating?  Doesn’t it seem like people are more busy and more rushed than ever before?  What is the cause of this?  Are technological advances the culprit?  Is it that many don’t cherish family time at home like they once did?  I don’t know the answer to these questions, but I ponder them often.

One thing I do know is that our souls have a great need for quietness and solitude.  Forgetting this fact can take a toll on us.  The constant drone of noise and distraction can negatively affect our family life and our spiritual lives.  But in our world today, many people feel guilty if they don’t pack every minute of the day with activities for themselves and their families.

Don’t get me wrong, being busy and working hard is indeed a good thing.  I certainly don’t want anyone to feel guilty for being busy.  Working hard to support your family is a right and godly thing to do.  Working hard to raise your children and to provide for their physical, mental, and social needs is a right and godly thing to do.  Working hard for the Lord, in whatever form that takes for you, is right and good.  The Lord wants us to be busy serving Him as we go about meeting our many day-to-day obligations.

But in the midst of all the busyness, we also need times of stillness.  Our Lord recognized His own need for this.  Throughout His ministry, Jesus would often go off to a secluded place to commune with His Father.  Jesus also recognized that His followers needed quietness and rest at times.  In the sixth chapter of Mark, Jesus began to send out the twelve in pairs to do His work.  They went out preaching, casting out demons, and anointing the sick with oil and healing them. (Mark 6:12-13) This would have been hard work!  And it was good work! When all of their hard work was done, “The apostles gathered together with Jesus; and they reported to Him all that they had done and taught.  And He said to them, ‘Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while.’ (For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.)  They went away in the boat to a secluded place by themselves.” (Mark 6:30-32 NASB95) They didn’t even have time to eat!  I’m guessing that many of you can relate to that.  Jesus recognized His apostle’s need for seclusion and rest after their work was done.  What a joy to go away to a secluded place with Jesus!

Why not do the same?  Why not go away to a secluded place with Jesus?  In times of stillness with Him we can find rest and renewal for our souls.  It doesn’t have to be a complicated thing.  We don’t have to make a trek out into the wilderness to spend time alone with Him—although that would be great, too!  We can do it sitting on our front porch, or while having a cup of coffee in the morning.  I encourage you to take some time, on a regular basis, to go away to a secluded place with the Lord.  It will be good for your soul!

—Scott Colvin

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Posted by Scott Colvin

Grace and Prayer

October 17, 2023

Does God really hear our prayers?  Sometimes we wonder about this. Perhaps we wonder if He hears because the very thought of it is so grand and so wonderful.  Would the Almighty listen to me?  Does the creator of the universe care for me and my struggles?  It seems too wonderful to be true, and yet, make no mistake, it is true!  What a kind and loving God we serve.

Perhaps another reason we wonder if God truly hears us is because we don’t understand His grace.  If we don’t understand His grace, we will feel completely unable to come before Him, and unwelcome when we do.  Martin Luther once said that in the monastery, he was never taught to ask in prayer.  But when he discovered in the scriptures the doctrine of justification by grace, it taught him to approach God freely. The biblical teaching of justification by grace assures us that we are in a right standing with God, not because of our goodness, not because of our ability to live up to God’s holy standard, but because of the death of Jesus on our behalf.  We are “justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus…” (Romans 3:24 NAS95).

How does this knowledge of justification by grace help us to pray?  If we have been justified, we have been made right with God.  We have been declared not guilty through Jesus Christ.  If this is the case, and if we are walking faithfully with Christ, what reason is there to think that God is angry at us, or disappointed in us, and that He will not hear us?  God gave His Son so that we could be in a relationship with Him.  Why then would we think that He isn’t concerned about us, or doesn’t want to be “bothered” by our problems?  Here is the amazing truth of the matter:  “Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith…” (Hebrews 10:19-22a NAS95)  Let us draw near to God!  Draw near to Him with confidence!  Come to Him in full assurance of faith! It’s all been made possible by the cleansing blood of Jesus!  There is nothing that stands between you and God in Christ.  May God help us to trust in His grace and believe that He hears our prayers.

—Scott Colvin

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Fasting: What is it About?

September 12, 2023

Have you given much thought about fasting?  Many references to fasting fill the pages of scripture, and yet we don’t talk about it much, and many Christians do not practice it.  What is fasting all about?  Is fasting something we are “commanded” to do?  While fasting may not be commanded for Christians, it is clearly something that has great spiritual value.  Jesus Himself fasted (Matthew 4:1-2) and pronounced that God will reward those who fast with the right motives (Matthew 6:18).  We also can see that both the saints of old and the saints of the 1st century church practiced fasting.  Let us turn to the word to see some of the important purposes of this spiritual practice.

Fasting is a way in which we can humble ourselves before God as we pray to Him.  Listen to the words of Ezra: “Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God to seek from Him a safe journey…” (Ezra 8:21 NAS95)

Fasting is a way in which we can more fully turn our attention to the Lord and seek His face, as the prophet Daniel wrote, “So I gave my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and supplications, with fasting… (Daniel 9:3 NAS95)

Fasting is associated with repentance from sin.  The prophet Joel writes: “‘Yet even now,’ declares the LORD, ‘Return to Me with all your heart, And with fasting, weeping and mourning’…” (Joel 2:12 NAS95)

Fasting was practiced by the early church when embarking on an important work.  It is said of the prophets and teachers in Antioch, “While they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’  Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.” (Acts 13:2-3 NAS95) Thus began the first missionary journey of Barnabas and Saul.  In this account, it seems that the apostles and teachers were fasting as part of their usual ministry, but then, upon receiving word from the Spirit to commission Barnabas and Saul, they fasted some more as they prayed for the work they were about to begin. There are many other passages that we could mention, but these should suffice to show us the value of fasting.  Perhaps it is something you and I can incorporate into our own walk with God. 

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The Impact of Prayer

January 25, 2022

Do you realize the profound impact for good that you can have on your brothers and sisters in Christ?  Do you realize the profound impact you can have upon the life and health of the church as a whole?  Do you realize that there is something you can be doing that will directly affect the ability of your brethren to stand firm in their battle against the evil one?  Do you know there is something you can do to help others to grow in love, spiritual wisdom, and strength?  How is it that we can have such a profound impact?  By praying spiritually-minded prayers!

We desperately need to be praying for one another.  God works powerfully through prayer!  Prayer changes things!  The apostle Paul knew this.  Paul was constantly in prayer for the churches.  Even though he was a man who was extremely busy, always traveling, and always preaching and teaching, he was a man who took the time to pray fervently for the church.  Why is that?  Because Paul knew what impact prayer could have.  For Paul, prayer wasn’t just some empty exercise in spiritual discipline—he knew it made a difference in the lives of people!

There are many prayers of Paul recorded in the New Testament, but let us look at one example to see the kind of things Paul prayed for.  In Ephesians chapter 1 he prays, “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him.  I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.” (Ephesians 1:17-19, NASB) What a beautiful, powerful prayer!  These are the kinds of things that are according to the will of the Lord.  These are the kinds of things that the Father is pleased to give.  These are the kinds of things that we need to be asking for one another.

Let us continue to ask God for the physical blessings and physical healing that we all need.  This is good and right.  But may we all, with renewed fervency and urgency, come before our Father to ask for spiritual blessings for our brethren.  There is nothing greater that we can be doing for each other.  Will you bow your head and ask God to impact those around you?

—Scott Colvin

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