Too Busy Not To Pray

The second lie that satan has subtly placed in our hearts is that prayer should be tried after all avenues have failed. The enemy’s main strategy within the church body is, “Don’t call, don’t ask, don’t depend on God to do great things. You’ll get along just fine if you rely on your own cleverness and energy.” How many times this week have we scurried around, trying to make sure the kids were fed, friends were met and jobs accomplished? And how many times, even in church settings, have we given lip service to God, asking for His blessing and went ahead with our own agendas? Two weeks ago, one of the elders approached me about praying for myself and the messages that God would give me. At the time, I thought, well, I can give maybe 10 minutes to that because the sermons aren’t finished yet. For myself, as a rookie, sermons can take anywhere from a week to a month to prepare. And as we prayed, God began to break down the walls in my heart, the busyness of my schedule, and bring me to a point where I wasn’t multi-tasking, I was sitting in the presence of God. And God provided all that I needed in terms of messages. James 4:2 says this You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. It is until we approach the throne of grace on our knees that we will begin to see the Holy Spirit work in our lives and the world around us.

The last lie of the enemy that has affected our attitude of prayer is that prayer is unreliable. One of the amazing things in my life is when I lose something. I’ll search for about 20 minutes, and then get so frustrated that I say, “God, I don’t want to waste any more time. Can you help me find this?” And honestly, every time I have found what I’m looking for. It’s God’s way of reminding me, “Shaun, rely on me even for the smallest of things.” But what about the more serious areas of our lives? When we see something that needs to happen, do we sit in our carnal nature and say, “Wow. I need to do something or else nothing will happen?” Jesus launched the Christian church, not while someone was preaching or by any human plan, but while people were praying? What does that say to our churches today, where times of prayer are just a small part of a larger program? I remember going to the prayer meeting at IDCI, and someone remarked how awful it was that prayer was going to be taken out of our schools. Pastor Jim Cymbala of the Brooklyn Tabernacle makes an excellent point in saying, “I am sure that the Roman emperors didn’t have prayer to God in their schools. But then, the early Christians didn’t seem to care what Caligula or Claudius or Nero did. How could any emperor stop God? How, in fact could the demons of hell make headway when God’s people prayed and called upon his name? Impossible!” Jeremiah 29:13 says You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart and Matthew 7:7 follows Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. Let’s not play games here. Let’s not divert attention away from the fact that in our churches, we are in a desert of prayer! Why should we be so concerned with prayer in our school, when we don’t even consider it seriously in the church? In Acts 4, when the apostles were unjustly arrested, they didn’t reach for some political leverage, they prayed. We need to have this instinct: when in trouble, pray, when driving, pray, when challenged, pray, when waking up, pray. This is no secret. When God’s people are called back to prayer, then the Spirit is poured out and amazing things happen in the body of Christ.