I’ve gone through seasons where I was praying regularly and productively, only to one day realize that somewhere along the way I had stopped.  When that realization hits it is often guilt inducing.  After all, I’m supposed to be a growing Christian who walks the walk.  How can I not pray?

Part of the answer seems fairly obvious.  The enemy doesn’t want us praying so he gives us lots of things to take the place of prayer.  And being the fallen humans we are, we tend to fall for it.

The guilt that follows is also from the enemy.  He tells us we’re wasting our time or we’re incapable of doing what we should so we should just give up trying.  The Holy Spirit, on the other hand, convicts us to get up and keep going.

I’m endeavoring to be more intentional about prayer.  I want to have my daily prayer time but I want to go beyond that.  I want to “pray without ceasing” as the apostle Paul put it.

I can’t count the number of times I’ve struggled with some problem or challenge at work that I seemed unable to find the answer to.  Like clockwork, when I tell my wife about the frustration, her response will be the same: “have you prayed about it?”  It becomes embarrassing after the umteenth time we go through this and I still have to hang my head and say “no.”

It is not only embarrassing, it is contrary to who I am as a Christian.  Prayer should be the default response to everything in life, whether we perceive them as good or bad.  God always knows what’s going on in our lives.  He is always in control and we can always trust Him to know what He’s doing.  Because of that we should be praising Him in all situations and looking for what He is doing.

So I’m working to improve my prayer life.  For one thing, I’m putting s small sign in my car that says simply “PRAY.”  When I get up in the morning I want to pray.  When I leave the house I want to pray.  When I arrive at a client’s location I want to pray.  When I leave the client I want to pray.  I want prayer to be such an integral part of my life that not praying is unthinkable.  I want it to be the default response to everything that happens in life

I know that God hears and answers when I pray.  I know this, not simply because the Bible says so, though that is reason enough.  I know it because I’ve experienced it far to many times to ignore.  God has always been faithful, even when I haven’t.  It is insanity for me not to pray!