When prayer is foundational and we allow His will to supersede our will, the ordinary activities of our day begin to take on a whole new light.

In simple terms, I think it’s because we begin to see as He sees; we begin to hear His voice more clearly, and we begin to respond to life’s challenges and our successes with a keen sense of the kingdom of God in mind. Thomas Watson once said, ”The angel fetched Peter out of prison, but it was prayer that fetched the angel." How cool is that.

It goes without saying the Lord can make sense out of any confused prayer that we might utter – that’s because He just wants us to reach out to Him. It has been my personal experience, that it is necessary to maintain a life of prayer, in order to overcome - triumph over spiritual dryness, and not be overwhelmed or defeated by Satan’s schemes. It was John Bunyan that wrote, “You can do more than pray, after you have prayed, but you cannot do more than pray until you have prayed.”

I’ve often asked myself this question. “Why is it that many of us fail to pray as we should”? We know that our burdens can be lifted when we bring them to Him. As the scripture says, we know that He is waiting for us to ‘ask, seek and knock.’ Scriptures like, Matt. 11:28-30 assure us, that the voice of the Holy Spirit keeps calling us to prayer.

Many passages exhort us to - come to the water that satisfies a thirsty soul; come to the Father who takes pity on His children: come to the Lord of life, who promises to forgive us our sins and come to the one who refuses to condemn us or to forsake us. There is an overwhelming exhortation in Scripture to - Come!

In this we are to come boldly to His throne of grace, even when we have sinned and fallen short. That He instantly forgives those who repent with godly sorrow. Friend, we don’t have to spend hours or days in remorse and guilt or earn our way back into God’s good books – He’s not that kind of God, He’s our loving Father.

Let me encourage you today, not to allow things and life’s circumstances to hinder or prevent you in coming to God: don’t allow guilt and condemnation to put a distance between you and the Father – for He never leaves us nor forsakes us. Never!

Here’s another thought! How is it that most us who love God try everything except prayer? We go looking for formulas and guidelines to help; we go to friends, pastors, and counselors (all good things in themselves), looking everywhere for some word of comfort, encouragement and advice – even the occasional personal prophecy or two. We search after answers but can so easily forget the Comforter – the Holy Spirit himself, who has the answer. All He says is - Come!

I have always found Him approachable, warm and available, easy to talk to and always waiting for me to come. He just waits!

Maybe today it’s time for you to go to the Father, to humble yourself before Him, open your heart, and cry out. Tell Him what’s really going on in your inner life; how it really is in your personal relationships with others, maybe your marriage (if you are married), in your family or at work; speak to Him about what is happing or not happing for you. Be honest, open and candid – He loves truth.

From my personal experience, nothing dispels dryness and emptiness more quickly, and causes ordinary activities in our day to take on a whole new light, than spending time with God. There is absolutely nothing that can take the place of praying to the Father in that secret place – you and God shut in together. As many before me have discovered, that is the solution to every dry spell that follows of Christ may encounter in life; as well as gaining insight and understanding of the times and seasons of God for your life.

Another thing I have found; prayer times for me are more about tuning everything else out so I can hear from Him. I still make my petitions and supplications known, but more importantly I try to listen for His petitions, in order for them to become an increasing reality for me. Like anything, that’s a growing experience.

As I said at the beginning of this blog, the Lord can make sense out of any confused prayer that we might utter – that’s because He just wants us to reach out to Him.

Friend - that’s Grace for you!

I will be off air for the next 2 weeks, as I lead a strategic prayer team into an extremely difficult nation – one that we would call, a restricted access nation. Every year, for the past two decades, I have been leading strategic prayer teams into 10/40 window nations and other ‘hot spots’ around the globe. Where we go 'onsite to pray with insight.' You can be part of one of these teams in future years, if you so desire – just send us an email. See you in 2 weeks.

Recommendation: One of the best little booklets on prayer that I know of – is called, The Prayer Of Obedience, by best selling author Dr Stuart Robinson. It costs $4.95 (Australian). You can get it from our store on this site or at: www.koorong.com

Endorsements: “I’ve never seen a book on prayer that is so concise, clearly-written, uplifting, and inspirational. Stuart Robinson imparts the joy of the Lord!” Dr C. Peter Wagner, Chancellor, Wagner Leadership Institute - Colorado Springs.

“Just now this is THE book for whole churches to be reading. As a travelling London pastor … I can personally endorse the integrity of this compelling call to prevailing prayer worldwide.” Rev. Richard Bewes, o.b.e. All Souls Church, Langham Place - London.

“This book, will motivate you afresh to seek God with your whole heart resulting in a greater dimension of God’s power and blessing. I highly recommend it.” Mark Conner, Senior Minister, CityLife Church - Melbourne.