Pray. Never stop praying.

Prayer. I feel that this is that one topic where everyone goes "I will be keeping you in my prayers" and may not do it. Don't get me wrong, I'm guilty of this too. But that gets me thinking, why do we say that if we don't mean it? Not saying that we are bad people, but if we meant it, we will want to put in the effort and put aside time to pray. Not just saying it for the sake of making the person think you care for the person, but intentionally wanting to pray for that person.

That goes without saying, it isn't an easy thing to do. Praying for someone just shows that you care enough for that person to drop what you are doing and just lift that person and their struggles or trials to the Lord. Many times, I have found myself asking if anyone has prayer requests, and then forgetting about it one day later. By the time I realise I forgot, I feel disappointed with myself. The fact that my life is so busy and I can't even put time aside to remember to pray for the person is just very disappointing. Come to think of it, if I am standing before God now, it would be pretty embarrassing and saddening.

But I guess that's where we are flawed. As humans, we fail all the time. That includes remembering to pray and talk to God. For me, I know that I need to pray. I mean, we all know that. But when it comes to doing it, our mind comes up with excuses and reasons to not pray or push it to 'tomorrow'- we all know that 'tomorrow' will never happen unless we put our foot down and just do it.

So now the question will be, how can we stop this ongoing habit, and just pray?

Let me tell you, it takes time and will require God to change your heart and perspective on prayer.

Let's look back at the bible and see what prayer is all about and meant for!

"And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people." Ephesians 6:18

Firstly, prayer is not just for yourself and your life, it is about praying for others as well and going beyond asking for things.

"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." Romans 12:12

Being faithful means being loyal. This reminds us that prayer is not just a once a week thing, but rather a daily response to Christ showing Him that we care about the relationship we have with Him and prioritising Him in our lives.

"For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them." Matthew 18:20

This reminds us that prayer is not always meant to be something you do alone. It is also important for us to gather as a community in prayer.

There are so many other important reasons as to why we should pray. Ultimately, prayer is, as we all know, a conversation with God.

Here are some steps that have helped me prioritise praying over these past few weeks:) You could give it a try too!

1. Writing it down

   1. Yes, I know. Probably the most cliche thing ever, but let me tell you, it helps. Writing it down not only helps you keep track of what you want to pray for, but also helps you understand the prayer request and look back on it in the future to remind you of how God has been faithful in your life. Writing down your prayer does take an extra amount of time, but it is worth it since it also gives structure to what you want to pray for:)

2. Getting in the zone

   1. What zone? Its called the zone where you focus completely on what you want to pray for, no music with lyrics (maybe some BGM playing quietly in the background) cause it can get pretty distracting especially when your mind starts to sing along to the song😉, sitting in a quiet place during a quiet time (I love doing this at night or early in the morning before my quite time)

3. Accountability to self, others and God

   1. Accountability is something that helps. Not just accountability to yourself and your friends, but Christ. Prayer means a lot to Him. I mean, Jesus also prayed to His father throughout His Ministry on earth, which goes to show how important prayer is if Gods son also prays even though he is God.

4. Don't force yourself

   1. Though it is important to constantly pray every single day, don't force yourself to do it when you are in a bad mood or if you just want to get it over and done with. Forcing does not help with anything except making prayer a 'routine' and 'ritual' that you want to do so that you won't get scolded by your parents (believe me. It happens)

   2. That being said, this does not mean that we should let our mood determine when we pray. If you are in a bad mood, lift it up to the Lord in prayer. It is important to pray with the right intentions, heart and state of mind rather than forcing yourself to do it for the sake of ticking it off your to-do list.

With that, I just want to encourage you that if you are feeling as though you have lost that drive for praying, don't worry. We all have our ups and downs in this Christian journey. What's important is what you are going to do in response to the roadblock you may be facing. You are not alone. If you are comfortable, share your struggles with your close community, I'm sure they would love to encourage, pray and go through this journey with you:)

May God bless you and may you have a fruitful week ahead! (Also wishing you a very happy 1st June)

Cheers,

Eleanor Teo