What If I Do Not Feel Like Praying? Luke 18:1

Prayer is essential, but we don't act like it.

We know we should pray and that prayer is supposed to be a good thing, even essential, but a lot of times we just don't feel like it. What do we do then?

"Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up." Luke 18:1.

In the parable that follows this verse, Jesus tells the story of a woman who repeatedly goes to a judge to seek justice, but he continues to refuse her. Eventually, he gives in because she has worn him out. Jesus makes the point that God responds to our request more willingly than the judge who does not, and therefore, we should always pray and not give up.

The type of prayer that the woman portrayed was the prayer of need. We may feel that our needs are insignificant or not worthy of God's attention, but the opposite is true. Every need and situation, no matter how small, is deserving of the attention of Him who sent his only begotten son to die for our sins.

ALWAYS

Always can refer to time. It means we should be ready and willing to engage in prayer at any time of day, whether it is morning, noon, or night. It means we should be willing to pray on any and every day of the week, regardless of the season of life.

Always can refer to any place. You should pray in your church as part of your community of worship, but you should pray at home, at work, in the place of leisure, or in the marketplace.

Always can refer to circumstances. When you face problems, trials, and tests, pray. When you have times of refreshment, peace, and relaxation, you should pray. Whether it's good times or bad, you should pray in those times.

Always refers to the practice of a daily discipline of prayer, where we have a habit of praying at specific times.

Always refers to a prayer that is spontaneous and offered on the spur of the moment.

We should pray in the morning and at night, both at work and at rest. We should not allow other things to crowd out the importance of prayer.

NOT GIVE UP

There are many hindrances to prayer, and there are numerous obstacles that hinder prayer in our lives.
Such as...
     * We are attacked by doubts, guilt, or a sense of unworthiness.
     * We may not see the answers we expect or desire.
     * We may have doubts that God is interested in our prayers.
     * Our sins may have made us feel distant from God.

But knowing that God is good and trusting in His goodness should encourage us to pray.

If you don't feel like praying, you should pray even more. If you are discouraged in prayer, you should resolve not to give up.

NOT JUST ADVICE

This passage has many parallels in the Bible where we are admonished to pray, and there are more where we are commanded to pray.

If we don't feel like praying, we shouldn't give up; we should still pray.

If you feel that you are distant from God, maybe you need to come to Him and receive his gift of 

(c) Adron 6/1/16