What's the big deal about PRAYER????

OK OK I'M PROBABLY KILLING YOU GUYS WITH ALL THE RANDOM STUFF BUT HEY I'VE BEEN COUPED UP IN THIS APARTMENT FOR 4 DAYS... I'M GOING NUTS! OK, OK... ONE MORE THING. I FOUND THIS ONLINE AND I REALLY ENJOYED IT SO I WANTED TO SHARE IT WITH YOU GUYS... ENJOY....


FIRST POINT::: Prayer is something we have to work at. Luke 11:1 says, "Lord, teach us how to pray." Prayer is something we need to learn to do! And it's not something that you can just read through a manual and say "Eureka, I've got it!" and scratch "learn to pray" off your to-do list. It's something you have to work at every day; I've been a Christian for years, and I'm still learning how to pray. My pastor will be the first to admit that he is still learning how to pray, but he will also tell you that because he tries to learn, God teaches him. So what should we do? I know this may sound weird, but we need to PRAY that God would teach us how to pray! Complex and odd concept, I know, but I'm hoping y'all will get it.
I get it!!! YAY!!!
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SECOND POINT::: What keeps us from praying? Here are some thoughts.
1: WORLDLINESS--- Don't pretend you don't know what that means. We live "in the world" (John 17:11) and because we are in it, it affects us. Sometimes it affects us more than we think. We are daily bombarded with things of the world, "the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does" all of which "comes not from the Father, but from the world." (1 John 2:16) The world is constantly telling us to focus on the physical, and none of the spiritual. There's the problem. Prayer is a SPIRITUAL exercise! So be careful. Matthew 26:41 tells us to resist the world by keeping watch in prayer- meaning make sure that you're focused on God. Like the hymn says, "Turn your eyes upon Jesus... and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace." I think that, since we're kind of stuck in this world for now, that is all we can do, and pray for strength and resistance.
2: BUSYNESS--- We don't pray, sometimes, because we just don't take time to pray! Imagine that... And usually the culprit is busyness. Now, the Bible does say that a strong work ethic is a mark of strong character (all you slackers out there, take note!). But the Bible also gives us a great example. In Luke 10:38-42 you will find the story of two sisters, Mary and Martha. In a nutshell, Martha was a worker. She did a lot of good things and was very busy, and was especially busy when Jesus came to visit them. But she was so busy that she literally fell apart and flipped out at Mary when Mary stopped working to sit and talk to Jesus. Both sisters loved Jesus, don't get me wrong, but Martha didn't know when to just stop with the good works and SPEND TIME WITH GOD. Mary knew, though, that there was nothing more important that she could be doing. Now, am I saying that we should just neglect our shores and schoolwork, etc. and spend all day praying- no. God also tells us to respect authority. But we need to take at least a little time (even just five minutes) and talk to God, hand over our troubles. We need to learn to be like Mary. "A woman who is too busy to pray is simply too busy!" (Quote from "A Young Woman's Call to Prayer")
3: FOOLISHNESS--- NO! None of US could EVER be FOOLISH!!! Hehe (can you sense the sarcasm?) We become so wrapped up and consumed with what is foolish that we fail to pray. It's a given! And then what happens? We begin to lose our ability to know the difference between what is of God and what is not. (Hebrews 5:14) We blur the line between what is wise and what is stupid, between the essential and the meaningless. And then we lose sight of THE primary thing in life- our relationship with God! We spend our priceless time on the "wrong" and inferior things, and fail to "seek first His kingdom and His righteousness". (Matthew 6:33) Because, if we focus on Him, all other things we NEED will be supplied to us without us having to worry about it. (Again, I'm not saying anything like, "go ahead and quit your job- God'll provide!" What I'm saying is more like, "if you lost your job, don't lose hope, keep looking, God will give you the job you need.") BUT the opposite is true when we pray. When we seek him, God gives us His wisdom. He helps us direct our energy, time, and efforts toward the big picture, whether we know what the big picture is or not. He will help us live life as He meant it to be lived- to the fullest, and showing the lost what fullness we have. Prayer will also help remind us that the secondary things- money, fashion, etc.- come "not from the Father but from the world" and will most definitely pass away. (1 John 2:16-17) Focus your life on the eternal, not the earthly- and the only way we can do that is through prayer. "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose." (Jim Elliot)
4: SINFULNESS--- We don't pray because we know we have sinned, and we feel immense guilt. Adam and Eve hid when the Lord entered the garden, the day they sinned (Genesis 3:8). And King David ceased praying and "kept silent" after he'd sinned (Psalm 32:3). So how do we fix this problem? David says, "Confess [your] transgressions to the Lord" (Psalms 32:5) James says, "Confess your sins" (James 5:16) John also says, "confess our sins," (1 John 1:9) Hmmm.... I think I see a pattern here.... Wow, imagine that, the people who wrote the Bible, inspired by God, might have known what they were talking about! Confess your sins, guys. I know sometimes it seems hard, because it's embarrassing, admitting that you messed up, especially when you're talking to God, who's... well... perfect. But He knows you did it anyway! He's just waiting for you to confess, because how can he clean someone who keeps denying that they're dirty?
5: FAITHLESSNESS--- We don't really believe in the power of prayer. We don't think that prayer really makes a difference- therefore we don't pray. Wow. We better fix that problem quick! If you're running low on faith, do what the disciples did- ask God to increase your faith (Luke 17:5). But how do I ask him to increase my faith when I won't pray because I don't think it'll make a difference anyway? Well, isn't it better that you tried and nothing happened that wouldn't have happened anyway, than that you didn't try and something amazing that could have happened didn't? (Wow, I think I just confused myself)
6: PRIDEFULNESS--- "Prideful? Who's prideful? I'm humble and proud of it!" How many times do we have that attitude? Honesty, now. I know I have. Prayer reflects our dependence on God, so not praying is saying that we don't have any needs- or worse, saying, "I think I'll take care of it myself, God, I don't need you right now." God, however, calls out, "If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from Heaven." (2 Chronicles 7:14) So let's be quick to humble ourselves- God does not hear the prayers of those who are so full of pride. In the New Testament Jesus says that the men crying out their prayers so men will hear and marvel have their reward here, but none in Heaven. So let's be quick to humble ourselves and pray to God as David did: "Search me, O God... see if there is any offensive way in me." (Psalm 139:23,24)And remember, "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted" (Psalm 34:18)
7: INEXPERIENCE--- We don't pray because... we don't pray. And because we don't pray, we don't know how to pray... so we don't pray! It's a never-ending, vicious cycle that so many of us get caught up in. Prayer, like any skill, comes easier when it's practiced, repeated. The more we pray, the more we know how to pray, what to pray for, etc. And the more we know how to pray, the more we pray. Yes, it is just that simple. Lather, rinse, repeat. "It is sheer nonsense to imagine we can learn the high art of communing with the Lord without setting aside time for it." And remember, "We're not talking to a brick wall when we pray- we're talking to someone who really listens."
8: LAZINESS--- Uh-oh, we've hit the big one. All the obstacles to prayer are indeed prayer killers. But even if we get over those, this one could ruin all of it. Laziness- or lack thereof- will make or break us in the Prayer Department. We all know how it goes, right? Habits form, and we're too lazy to break them. So they continue, and sooner or later take up more and more time, and we're too lazy to even set aside time AWAY from the habit to pray, let alone break the habit TO pray. Now, how can we fix this little problem? STOP BEING LAZY!!! Break and give up the habits that keep you from God or prayer- because, even if they seem like a good thing, if they're keeping you from prayer they're probably not what you should be doing anyway. Set aside a set time, if you have to, to pray. Say, from 7:00-7:30 I will pray and do a devotion. Or, for the ten minutes before bed I will pray. It's really not that difficult. All God wants is some of your time, and since He gave you that time in the first place, don't you think you can oblige?