Over the last five months, I’ve endured somewhat of a spiritual storm. Often during this storm, my way would get so hard that I would decline to engage in my daily talks with God. Today as I sit remembering that painful time in my life, I wonder why is it so easy to pray when things are going well, but so difficult to pray when things aren’t so great? As a Christian, I know how hard it can be at times to engage in prayer consistently when times are tough. The bible commands us to pray without ceasing (I Thessalonians 5:17), but at times of despair prayer often becomes the farthest thing from many of our minds. Prayer often becomes the hardest thing for a person to do during difficult times in life because Satan purposely attacks people during these times to strain their relationships with God. Satan knows that a person is at their strongest while on their knees in prayer. The prayers of a righteous person are powerful and effective (James 5:16). The prayers of righteous people are so effective that just two or three righteous people gathered together in God’s name can bring about change. Thus, why on earth would Satan want people to pray and encourage others during difficult times? People’s prayers thwart Satan’s evil plans, so he does everything in his power to keep them from praying and drawing closer to God. Men and women ought to always pray, and not give up (Luke 18:1). Men and women should always pray and not give up hope because when they cease to pray, their hope and faith in God decreases. Their hearts may also become hardened as a result of their lessened fellowship with God. Don’t just pray when you feel like it. Set aside a certain time to fellowship with God daily, and stick to it. Sticking to set times of prayer daily is difficult for many people, including myself, but its rewards (peace, love, humility, temperance, etc) make it worthwhile. Although we as Christians may feel hard pressed for joy or happiness at times, the worst thing we can do is to not pray at all. When we pray, our prayers release peace into our lives, as well as releasing us from the strongholds of worry and doubt. When we as people don’t pray regularly, we make life harder for ourselves than it has to be. For faith is the key to entering into God’s kingdom, and prayer unlocks the door. Vast amounts of people only pray when things aren’t going their way and during difficult times, but the bible teaches us that we ought to always pray. We as people ought to always pray in the best of times and in the worst of times. Our faith in God and whether or not we pray should never be determined by our circumstances. Circumstances are temporary, and ever changing. However, prayer has been known to shorten the length of time that people are in particular circumstances and situations. Praying to God during difficult times is expected, but people should also pray to thank God and praise Him too. Trust God with the aspects of your life, praise Him in good times and bad times, and be consistent in your prayer life. Praying consistently is so hard for great amounts of people in the world today, because they only pray when they feel like it, and to ask for favors from God. However, there are also many other people in the world today who don’t pray consistently because they don’t know how to, and haven’t been taught the proper way to pray. Countless numbers of people either don’t know how to pray, or how to pray the proper way. They think that just because they talk to the Lord occasionally, they don’t have to do more. Yet, the Bible teaches people to pray for good things such as goodwill towards all men, peace, love, humility, God’s will to be done, and forgiving hearts. Great numbers of people find prayer hard to engage in because they pray just to pray, not as a means to grow closer to the Lord as they should. Practice engaging in prayer consistently, and ask God to give you the right kind of heart for prayer, so that you’re not merely playing around in your prayer life. “Seek the Lord [in prayer] while he may be found; call on him while he is near.” (Isaiah 55:6)
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