"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
The Word of God tells us to keep praying. In fact, it says we should pray non-stop.
This might sound impossible and even absurd to many, but the reality is that we should always pray to God -- even when we don't feel like it.
Have you ever felt like you don't want to pray? Or that you always need to be in the mood before you can pray? If you said yes to any of the two, you've got to read this:
Moods, emotions, and feelings aren't reasons for us to pray or not to pray. But we can pray regardless of what we feel, and we can actually enjoy praying even if we don't feel like praying.
This article is meant to help you with that.
Can I really enjoy praying?
Prayer is a very good thing. In fact, any Christian who is in relationship with God will not live without praying to Him. It's a non-negotiable.
To help you understand why I said that, think of the people who are the closest to you, those people you enjoy being with even if you're not doing anything.
- Do you enjoy the fact that they're there with you?
- Do you cherish the fact that you can talk to them anytime about anything, and they can do the same to you?
- Do you rejoice in the fact that you have a relationship with them that is growing the more you guys bond with each other?
If you said yes to the three, then you have a picture of how good and enjoyable prayer really is.
According to Webster's 1828 dictionary, prayer, "in a general sense, [is] the act of asking for a favor, and particularly with earnestness."
Based on such a definition, we understand that prayer is almost always a petition for God to do something.
The Lord Jesus, however, showed us that as God's children in Him, we make our requests just like how a son talks to his dad:
"For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. In this manner, therefore, pray: 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name...'" (see Matthew 6:8-15 in context)
"Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!" (see Matthew 7:9-11)
How to enjoy prayer
Now that we've established that we can simply come to our loving God and Father as His children, there's no way we won't be able to enjoy praying. Still, here are some ways we can enjoy praying:
1) Enjoy the fact that God is your Father and He loves you (see John 1:12-13).
How can we not enjoy the truth that in Christ, we have God as our Father whom we can approach and expect to receive much love every time we do?
2) Cherish the fact that you can talk to Him anytime about anything, and the fact that He will do the same to you through His Word and His Spirit (see Hebrews 4:16; John 16:13-15).
How can we not enjoy the fact that we can pray to our God regardless of our situation, and that He can and will respond to us?
3) Rejoice in the fact that your relationship with Him grows the more you seek Him and spend precious time with Him (see 2 Corinthians 3:18).
How can we not enjoy the fact that we grow increasingly more like Christ the more we see Him? How can we not rejoice in the fact that God is the one who draws us nearer and closer to Him?
