Addicted to Prayer

The 19th-century British preacher Charles Spurgeon said something that to me defines the role of a Christian in regard to prayer. “As artists give themselves to their models, and poets to their classical pursuits, so must we addict ourselves to prayer.”

I must admit, though, that at times I have had a hard time maintaining a strong prayer life. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to pray—to the contrary—I just had a hard time sticking to my good intentions. It seemed that whenever I’d try to pray, thoughts would flood my mind and I would quickly find myself embroiled in other things.

I finally decided that I had to get to the core of the matter. Why was I having such a hard time? Was it laziness, a lack of motivation, or difficulty concentrating? It finally dawned on me that it was because praying seems like inaction. I knew in theory that prayer was essential to a Christian life, but in practice, I just didn’t feel it. I’m an action-oriented person, and praying simply didn’t make me feel like I was doing anything substantial.

So I had to change my attitude and see things in a different light. For me, that meant that when I was praying for a sick child, I imagined that I was actually there, cooling that fevered brow. When I prayed for peace in Africa, I pictured myself in the midst of the fighting, begging for it to stop. Visualizing my prayers helped them to come alive. It helped me feel more involved, as if I was “doing” something.

I’ve also found it helpful to start a file where I keep track of the people and situations I pray for, arranged by topic. I regularly add prayer requests that I hear about, promises from the Bible that apply, updates, etc., and I keep track of which prayers have been answered.

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Psalms 55:17 KJV – Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.

Psalms 118:5 KJV – I called upon the LORD in distress: the LORD answered me, [and set me] in a large place.

Isaiah 55:6 KJV – Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: