Devotions

Throughout the Bible, God’s people are commanded to pray at all times — in good times and bad. No matter what our situation or condition, we are to pray without ceasing. “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).

I believe every sincere Christian wants to pray but even mature believers slack off or find it difficult at times. After much prayer and study of God’s Word, I believe the Lord shed some light on this subject for me. Here are five common hindrances to prevailing prayer:

1. Difficulty believing your prayers are accepted. Even after hearing the gospel of grace preached for years, some Christians still lack confidence that they are accepted before the Lord.

2. Feeling guilty for praying only when you are in trouble. The Bible tells us, “He shall regard the prayer of the destitute, and shall not despise their prayer” (Psalm 102:17). God will never reject our prayers simply because we offer them in a crisis.

3. Mistakenly believing prayer has to be exhausting or loud. Sometimes fervent prayer is appropriate, but God will hear us if we don’t raise our voices. 

4. Emphasizing mental praying at the exclusion of praying aloud. I believe quiet, unspoken prayers are effective; indeed, when Paul speaks of “praying without ceasing,” I believe he is referring to mental prayers. But praying aloud can be a blessed relief at times.

5. Prevailing prayer is impossible without the help of the Holy Spirit. Paul writes, “The Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us” (Romans 8:26).

Ask the Holy Spirit to teach you to pray. He will put a spirit of thanksgiving in your heart and as you respond to his voice, you will find a river of godly prayer flowing from your soul.

After Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount, his listeners sat in awe. Scripture says, “The people were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes” (Matthew 7:28-29). The Greek word for authority in this verse means “with mastery, power, as one in control.” Jesus’ listeners were saying, in essence, “This man speaks as if he knows what he is talking about.”

Note, the verse does not say that Christ spoke “with authority” but rather “as one having authority.” It is one thing to speak with what we think of as authority — in loud, boisterous tones — but quite another to speak with spiritual authority.

The authority Jesus wielded shook up the entire religious system. Jewish leaders kept coming to him demanding, “By what authority are you doing these things? And who gave you this authority?” (Matthew 21:23). But Jesus knew he didn’t have to answer the devil’s questions.

If ever the church of Jesus Christ needed his power and authority, the time is now. The devil has brought his own false Christs into God’s house — weak, godless preachers who speak as angels of light and turn churches into feel-good comfort zones where sin is never mentioned and people’s consciences are dulled. As a result, the church is filled with hurting, withered people who do not know how to challenge Satan’s invasion into their lives.

When the disciples were helpless against the enemy, Jesus told them that power over Satan came only by prayer and fasting. Why is this so? I believe it is because the Lord wants time to work on our inner man. He wants our hearts completely attuned to him.

Beloved, righteousness is believing that what God says is true and then committing your life to it. It’s that simple. As you learn to grow in your hidden man and trust his word to you in every crisis, you will be given all spiritual authority.

Of all the sins we can commit, doubt is the one most hated by God. According to both Old and New Testaments, our doubting grieves the Lord. We see a prime example of this in ancient Israel after God delivered his people from the hand of Pharaoh.

“We have sinned with our fathers, we have committed iniquity, we have done wickedly. Our fathers in Egypt did not understand Your wonders; they did not remember the multitude of Your mercies, but rebelled by the sea — the Red Sea” (Psalm 106:6-7).

The writer is making a confession here. The sin that Israel had committed was their doubt that God would deliver them, even after he had performed an incredible miracle for them at the Red Sea. It seems inconceivable that these same people doubted God’s faithfulness as they faced hardship afterward. The psalmist is saying, essentially, “Can you believe it? Our Lord had supernaturally delivered us from the enemy, yet we mistrusted him.”

It was a different story altogether, however, when Israel stood on the victory side of the sea. They sang and danced as they watched the mighty Egyptian army sink to destruction: “The waters covered their enemies; there was not one of them left. Then they believed His words; they sang His praise” (Psalm 106:11-12).

The Israelites sang the right song — but they sang it on the wrong side of the sea. Anyone can sing and rejoice when they have the victory but many of us are like Israel, failing miserably before we experience triumph. 

God had proven himself to his people in Egypt many times with incredible signs and wonders. And Moses tried to convince them the Lord had been working on their behalf, but they still doubted God, taking his mighty works for granted (read Exodus chapters 14 through 16.)

We are never to build our faith on miracles alone; rather, many times the Holy Spirit strengthens our trust in the Lord through our trials.

In our desire for God’s favor, we must never forget that Satan constantly seeks to steal from us. In fact, the enemy of our soul attacks most fiercely when we are facing trials. But the Bible tells us in numerous ways that God restores what Satan steals — and not only that, he multiplies it.

In Old Testament times, if a thief was caught stealing something, he had to replace it sevenfold. That’s a picture of God’s justice. Yet in the New Testament, God promises to do even more. In various passages, he says he will restore what is taken from us thirtyfold or even a hundredfold. That goes beyond justice; it points to his bountiful grace.

In our deepest trials, when everything is turning from bad to worse, it’s hard to imagine anything wonderful ever happening again. There is such a disparity between what we know of our loving God and the very real circumstances we face. But the problem is we can’t see God at work. And yet the Bible tells us that our minds can’t fathom what God has prepared for us. “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9).

A lot of Christians wonder whether God will ever answer their prayers — to repair a lifeless marriage, to bring back a prodigal child, to rescue an addicted sibling, to save a lost parent. In fact, sometimes after they pray, things seem to get worse instead of better. They tell themselves, “At one time Jesus worked miracles in my life, but now he seems absent. Why should I keep believing for an answer?”

I want to tell every struggling Christian, “Hold on! The Lord isn’t idle during your trials. He is actually storing up great blessings for you.” Because you are his child, his favor is not lifted from you — even during your pain and problems.  

Do you know a father who is no longer speaking to his son? Perhaps they were close once but harsh words were spoken during an argument and they haven’t spoken since. Or perhaps you know a married couple who rarely communicate and do not enjoy each other’s company. These individuals have a relationship but they do not have fellowship with each other.

As Christians we have a relationship with God — he is our Father and we are his children — but that does not mean we necessarily have the kind of fellowship with him that he planned for us. The writings of great Christian leaders from a hundred years ago or earlier place a strong emphasis on two-way fellowship between the Lord and his people — spending time in his presence just listening for his voice.

Our best model for this is Jesus, who “often withdrew to lonely places and prayed” (Luke 5:16). Although the Son of God, Jesus found it necessary to spend time alone with the Father in prayer, to discern what God wanted him to do. He listened to his Father for guidance and for the very subject matter of his teaching: “These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me” (John 14:24).

It was while communing with the Father that Jesus was directed to pick twelve men to be his followers. “Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach” (Mark 3:13-15). We note that the first reason Mark gives for appointing the Twelve was so that they might be with him. When Jesus called someone, fellowship came before ministry.

When we neglect our fellowship with him we become weakened; we have less faith, less grace, and more stress. There is something about being with Jesus, being in God’s presence, that helps us have more peace and joy. 

Jim Cymbala began the Brooklyn Tabernacle with less than twenty members in a small, rundown building in a difficult part of the city. A native of Brooklyn, he is a longtime friend of both David and Gary Wilkerson.