Some of the pastors present confessed they had struggled with the lack of faith and prayer. Reading that really broke my heart! Any of us who have been in ministry for any length of time understand how easy it is to fall into that TRAP!
But I have learned a great lesson…
When you “feel” to beat up, put down or left down to pray. Listen carefully…the physical is opposite from the spiritual. When our physical bodies get hungry we eat, and then we aren’t hungry anymore. However, in our spiritual lives, when we aren’t hungry, we must… force ourselves to eat, and eat with humility and desperation!
Eating and indulging in the Word
and prayer makes us hunger for more! Touching the “hem” means we have come full circle realizing that is our only hope for enduring and overcoming the hardship!
If you aren’t hungry for the Word and prayer…
Eat hardily my friend, because in doing so, your breakthrough will draw near, even at the door!
Have you ever had a time in your life when you felt you didn’t even have the strength to pray???
I have been the Pastor who did not force myself and it showed. Maybe it did not show so that everyone saw it but those most important to me did – my wife and children. We need to be forcing ourselves into the Word and onto our knees – just like we force ourselves to eat as you point out.
The stats are so sad when it comes to Pastors and that is a great reason for us to stick together, encourage, and ask the tough questions of one another. Questions like Are you reading the Word and not just for sermon prep? What is your prayer life like?
Do not mean to ramble but you wrote an excellent Post Artie.
I enjoyed this post. Not only Pastors struggle with having strength to pray but lay people do as well. I have a daily prayer asking God to keep me craving His word. The result is I hunger to read His word and have conversation with Him all the more. When I miss this time of reading and prayer, it is like skipping breakfast, the most important meal of the day.
Thank you for your thoughts. I don’t always leave a comment but I do enjoy your post. Blessings to you and your ministry and your writing.
The hardest time for me to pray was when I was in the deepest part of my healing from physical/sexual abuse. During that time I learned that reading the Psalms where David cries out to God in pain, and letting those be my prayers too, helped tremendously. Even now when I get to the point where I can’t pray, that is what I do.
I have been the Pastor who did not force myself and it showed. Maybe it did not show so that everyone saw it but those most important to me did – my wife and children. We need to be forcing ourselves into the Word and onto our knees – just like we force ourselves to eat as you point out.
The stats are so sad when it comes to Pastors and that is a great reason for us to stick together, encourage, and ask the tough questions of one another. Questions like Are you reading the Word and not just for sermon prep? What is your prayer life like?
Do not mean to ramble but you wrote an excellent Post Artie.
Right on Jim! I tell people pastors all the time, you can only “give what cha got” if you have dry bones going in, only dry bones come out!
Pastors Openly Confess Sin! – http://bit.ly/fddmY1 (via @ArtieDavis)
RT @ArtieDavis Are you aware of this Sin? Pastors Openly Confess Sin!: http://tinyurl.com/4bky6bj
Ever feel like you don’t have the strength to PRAY? http://tinyurl.com/4bky6bj
RT @artiedavis: Ever feel like you don’t have the strength to PRAY? http://tinyurl.com/4bky6bj
I enjoyed this post. Not only Pastors struggle with having strength to pray but lay people do as well. I have a daily prayer asking God to keep me craving His word. The result is I hunger to read His word and have conversation with Him all the more. When I miss this time of reading and prayer, it is like skipping breakfast, the most important meal of the day.
Thank you for your thoughts. I don’t always leave a comment but I do enjoy your post. Blessings to you and your ministry and your writing.
Thanks you so much April, No it’s not just for pastors! Any one who is pouring ANYTHING OUT, better be filling up or the will “dry out.”
Blessings my sis!
Has your "Can Do" done gone? Get it BACK! : http://tinyurl.com/4bky6bj
Sometimes you don’t know it’s Sin! Pastors Openly Confess Sin!: http://tinyurl.com/4bky6bj
RT @ArtieDavis: Ever feel like you don’t have the strength to PRAY? http://tinyurl.com/4bky6bj
Real life! Pastors Openly Confess Sin!: http://tinyurl.com/4bky6bj
The hardest time for me to pray was when I was in the deepest part of my healing from physical/sexual abuse. During that time I learned that reading the Psalms where David cries out to God in pain, and letting those be my prayers too, helped tremendously. Even now when I get to the point where I can’t pray, that is what I do.