Have you ever heard we should “pray hardest when it’s hardest to pray?” I don’t think this necessarily means we should pray hardest when we’re in the most trouble.
Most people find it pretty easy to pray when we need God to get us out of a tight spot. I know I do. Don’t you?
For me, this quote means that I need to pray hardest when I’m . . .
. . . exhausted
. . . excited
. . . angry
. . . anxious
. . . annoyed
. . . busy
. . . behind
. . . distracted.
Being busy. Distracted. Behind. Those last few are particularly hard ones for me.
That’s one reason it so inspires me to read the thoughts and perspectives of great prayer warriors such as these:
- George Muller: “Four hours of work after an hour of prayer will accomplish more than five hours of work without prayer.”
- Martin Luther: “Work, work from early until late…. I have so much to do that I need to spend the first three hours in prayer.”
- Charles Haddon Spurgeon: “We should pray when we are in a praying mood, for it would be sinful to neglect so fair an opportunity. We should pray when we are not in a proper mood, for it would be dangerous to remain in so unhealthy a condition.”
When is it hardest for you to pray? Let’s work harder at remembering at that moment to pray for God’s strength, comfort, wisdom, and grace.
This is excellent! Last night at prayer meeting our church had a missionary from French Guiana speak about the importance of prayer. He said that prayer is the most important thing we can give to missionaries (I add that prayer is the most important thing we can give to anyone and anything). And then this morning I open my email from Jennifer and what’s it about?? PRAYER! I think the Lord is trying to tell me something! I’m lacking in this area and need to pray more, for sure. Thank you for this.
PS The Secret is one of my favorite poems about prayer, also! I’ve printed it several times in our Sunday church bulletin! 🙂 Have a wonderful day, Jennifer. I totally love your emails and all the goodies that come my way each week!
Thanks so much for your encouraging words, Kathi. And of course, I agree with you (and your missionary friend) 100% on how vitally important prayer is in the life of a Christian!
Inspiring message. I recently lost my father it’s been a challenge to pray. But after this I feel uplifted.
I’m so sorry about your loss, Milner. My dad died 14 years ago, and I still miss him dreadfully. So thankful we serve a God who “is a Father to the fatherless.” (Psalm 68:5)
LOVE this!! I will be posting it and linking back to your site:)
Great, Sarah. Welcome to WordPress. I’m looking forward to reading your blog, so let me know when you get it up and running!