Daily Devotions
Do Your Prayers Feel Lifeless?
Reading for December 27th: Revelation 4-5
At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald.
Revelation 4:2-3
Do you ever feel like your prayers lack something? Does prayer ever feel like a routine? What can you do when prayer has become stale and lifeless?
I have a solution to this. I know this sounds simplistic, but something I do when this happens is I try to focus on the fact that when I pray I am speaking to a person, and not just to any person, but to my Father. Jesus told us to pray, "Our Father in heaven." (Matthew 6:9) He instructed us to pray to our "Father who is in secret." (Matthew 6:6) When I remind myself of the One I'm speaking to and really try to concentrate on that, it breathes new life into my prayers.
This is another reason to begin prayer with some kind of expression of praise. Visualize the One who "dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see." (1 Timothy 6:16) As you worship God in praise for all of his divine characteristics, allow your mind to be transported into the place where even the seraphim hide their faces, and cry out with them, "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!" (Isaiah 6:2-3)
Great God and Father, thank you for hearing our prayers and being concerned and interested in what we have to say to you.
