Is it because we haven't got down the right techniques? Is it because we don't have the right devotional book or tool? No, the answer is simple and Rev. Scott Murray provides it for us. From his "Memorial Moment" of March 8:
Sinners must pray. This fact goes against all that we know and feel in our hearts. Satan, the world, and our sinful flesh all conspire against us, so that we would be inclined to flee God and avoid prayer. Like the guilty child, who has broken mother's vase, we avoid facing our Father with our transgressions...we flee from God's presence for fear of being swallowed up by His righteousness. He is holy. I am not. The calculus is quite simple.
This is why we Christians practice repentance and faith. None of us like to admit failure. Who wants to come before the Lord and confess the ways in which we failed to make His will our own? But to come clean before the Lord and then take heart in the forgiveness and grace which God poured out on us in baptism is to know that God has removed the barrier that makes it so very difficult to face the Lord in prayer.
Now we can pour our hearts out before the Lord. We can share our own petitions and concerns. We can pray on behalf of our neighbor. We don't need a special technique or the latest devotional book. All you need is God's Word and a quiet place. Read some Scripture. Meditate on what you've read. Pray. Speak to the Lord as you would a good friend. Pray with confidence that all the promises found in Scripture that God hears our prayers is your guarantee that the Lord is listening. Trust Him. Give Him room to work in your life. Don't give up. Pray.
