When All You Can Do Is Pray

“I just don’t know what I can do… I mean, I guess I can pray” - ever used or thought of a statement similar to that?  I know I have.  “I guess I can pray.”  How often do I think of prayer in that way?

“The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective… it avails much” (James 5:16).  I could rattle off a number of verses similar to this one, verses of how effective our prayers are, how we are to pray continually, how we are to be faithful in prayer, where two or more are gathered the Lord is there, and on and on.  All great verses, but how often do I actually live them out?  Why is it that prayer is often seen as a last resort or leaves us with the feeling that we’re not really doing anything at all?

“The prayer of a righteous man is POWERFUL and EFFECTIVE… IT AVAILS MUCH.”

Far too often, I fail to see what prayer truly does.  I’ve seen the Lord answer prayer, and in some pretty incredible ways.  And I’ve certainly heard countless stories of crazy things the Lord has done as a result of praying people.  And yet, I still struggle to get there, to maintain and heart and mind bent on prayer - constant communion with the Father.

There’s a passage in 2 Chronicles 7:14 that’s not a new concept to me, in fact, it’s one of the most quoted verses on prayer I’ve heard.  But as I’ve been reading back over it again and again, I’ve been struck by the posture of the people praying.

“If my people, who are called by my name, will HUMBLE THEMSELVES and pray…”

Maybe we struggle so much with prayer because it requires us to lay ourselves down at the feet of Jesus.  Maybe we struggle because it means surrendering time, effort, and our attention.  Maybe we struggle because we don’t know the “right words” or how to pray.  How often does my pride or selfishness get in the way of the power I have been given, the authority I have received in prayer?  How often can I not get myself past the “humble themselves” part of praying?  How often do I make it a time issue or see it as somewhat of an inconvenience to my life?  Or how often do I not pray because of my own brokenness from moments of feeling as though I’ve been praying and no answers have come?

There are a lot of reasons I can think of that I don’t pray as I should or as I’m called to.  But what I fail so often to realize is the greatest gift of prayer is communion with the Father.  Prayer is a beautiful invitation to come to the feet of Jesus and just be with Him.  Setting aside whatever requests or burdens I'm carrying, prayer is most simply about being with Jesus.  And that’s who I want to be with.  That’s who I want to do life with.  That’s my sweet spot, the place that when I’m there I feel most alive, most content, most accepted, most filled, most at peace, most in awe.  And when I take the time to humble myself and get there, I’m reminded of those very things and it’s beautiful!

I long to be a person of prayer - one who runs to the Father not as a last resort but because with the Father is simply where I want to be.  There is much I’m crying out to the Father for - for peace in Myanmar, for direction and discernment as we as a ministry grow and move forward, for rest or better yet learning how to rest well, for our team and those the Lord still wants to bring in, for future relationships and family, for more platforms to see Jesus lifted high, for those we get to serve here in Mae Sot and how the Lord longs for their hearts, and the list could go on and on!  But most of all, I just want more of Jesus.  I want to be where He is.  I want to know more of His heart and more of His character.  I want to experience more of His love, His peace, and His freedom.  I want to know Him and for others to know Him.

I can think of no better reason to humble myself in prayer than that I get to be with Jesus and pray for the hearts of others to know Him too.