The Time Is Now - Developing A Lifestyle Of Prayer

If this describes your current emotional and spiritual condition to some degree, you may find solace in knowing that you're not alone. Take comfort also in the knowledge that God stills loves you and has somehow provided a way out of your emotional dungeon (1 Corinthians 10: 13). I encourage you to talk with a pastor or a trusted, mature believing friend. A person who can ask questions and help discern your unique set of needs can best help you learn to hope and dream again. Also, because there are some characteristics common to many people in this position, we offer a f e w suggestions that may prove helpful. First, let us dispel a misconception about prayer-namely, that effective prayer must be based on "strong faith" and that you must come to God with a power of conviction before you can pray effectively. In fact, prayer is, in its essence, an expression of our own helpless­ ness and need to depend on God. God's favorite prayer is simply, "Help!" God honors faith. But, rather than being some strength we build up, faith can just as much be displayed through our helpless dependence on the strength of God. So if you are feeling helpless, weak-even worthless-you're in the best position to send up a genuine prayer of totally dependent faith to God. You, of all people, know you can't rescue yourself and are ready to see God work miracles that could only be from Him. Second, don't set early expectations of yourself too high (even the minimal expectations established in this book may be too high for some people at the start). Set yourself up for small, early victories by establishing meaningful, but reachable, goals. If you are so discour­ aged about life that you feel defeated by the idea of an hour of prayer a day, then plan for ten or fifteen minutes. Focus those prayers on the issues you are passionate about. They will most likely raise some energy and interest in your weaiy heart. For example, most people will do well simply to start praying for family, or others closest to them. By choosing a short-term, reachable goal, you make it much more likely that you'll be celebrating a small victoty soon (such as maintaining your habit daily for a week). Then use the growing ember of hope from that victo1y to fuel your progress on toward a slightly higher and riskier goal. And remember, your growth in confidence and faithfulness is the real vic­ to1y. God, in His wisdom, may not answer your prayers the way you expect, so don't use out­ ward circumstances to measure success. Third, recognize that life will still continue to present you with disappointments, and that some of your risks of obedience will not "pay off" as you might hope. This is normal, and God has promised the grace to help you endure disappointments. As you persevere in His strength and love, your eventual victories and successes will dwarf the disappointments. The obedient life is risky, but, in God's universe, obedience is always an affordable risk. Fourth, as a last resort, consider consulting a medical doctor to see if there may be some physiological component to your discouragement. If there is, it doesn't mean that you're