Hindrances to Prayer.
Most believers have a desire to pray but fail to devote enough time to pray effectively. What is the cause of such failure? What are the answers?
There are many reasons why we fail to pray effectively but we can put it down to TWO main categories:
1. Demonic Activity.
2. Our Flesh.
Demonic activity during the time of prayer is not always evident and something we do not always consider as a hindrance. However, by the Holy Spirit, we can discern that this is a great stumbling block to prayer.
It can take many forms. The Apostle Paul warns us that we should know that there are demonic forces working against the believer and we should know the methods they use against us-2 Cor.2:11.
Satan knows very well that a praying saint can accomplish much in the Kingdom of God, hence he will do everything to make the prayer time ineffective or stop it altogether. For this purpose demons are involved in working upon the believer to bring the time of prayer to nought. Demonic activity is mainly upon the mind of the believer to make it ineffective to communicate.
Things like evil thoughts, desires of the flesh, unclean thoughts, distraction and many other things are thrown upon the mind of the believer to distract it and bring the prayer time to an end or make it fruitless. The Word of God calls us to guard our minds-Eph.6:17. Our thought life governs our very actions. Protect your mind against the enemy.
In Daniel 10:12-13, we see how Satan hindered the answer to Daniel's prayer for 3 weeks. Demonic activity can do that; but God's purposes cannot be stopped altogether or forever.
Demonic activity is not only against the believer but also against the Churches, their ministry and much more. Divisions, disagreements, negative attitudes , passivity, neglect of duties, are only a few of the things Satan employs to bring the work of a Church to no effect. However, we cannot always blame Satan for all the problems in a Church since the lack of spirituality is responsible for a good part of the problems which result in a lack of effective prayer.
Hindrance to prayer from our flesh is not always clear either.
Jesus said on one occasion, 'The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak' Mark 14:38. How is it that many a time when we get down to pray we find that we shirk from the activity to the point that we are not really willing to devote ourselves to it? This can sometimes be to plain fatigue. The Lord said that the natural man is at enmity with God. Our flesh wants to have its way but we have to be strong in our spirits and dictate the terms to the flesh and tell it that it will not have its way. Our spirits should dictate the terms to the soul and not the other way round. Remember, the flesh has a strong ally-Satan. Paul gives the answer to this problem-Rom.7:15.
We cannot blame Satan for all these failures either but we need to see that half of the problem is due to our own lack of spirituality. If we fail to see the importance of prayer and communion with God in our lives it is not all Satan's fault. If we do not grow in the Faith it is due to our own failure to feed on the Word and Pray adequately. Satan knows our Achilles tenon so he strikes hard at the believer. He knows when and how to whisper in our ears the things that distract us and paralyse us during prayer time. The flesh will tell us that prayer time can be postponed with the usual excuses we produce.
How do we deal with this kind of problem effectively? Paul admonishes us (Col.3:5-10) to deal with the flesh mercilessly-Crucifixion. No soft treatment or persuasion. Done on a daily basis, we need to deal with the source not just the products. The flesh will never be reformed neither will it be saved and it will always be a source of trouble in our Christian lives.
Most believers have a desire to pray but fail to devote enough time to pray effectively. What is the cause of such failure? What are the answers?
There are many reasons why we fail to pray effectively but we can put it down to TWO main categories:
1. Demonic Activity.
2. Our Flesh.
Demonic activity during the time of prayer is not always evident and something we do not always consider as a hindrance. However, by the Holy Spirit, we can discern that this is a great stumbling block to prayer.
It can take many forms. The Apostle Paul warns us that we should know that there are demonic forces working against the believer and we should know the methods they use against us-2 Cor.2:11.
Satan knows very well that a praying saint can accomplish much in the Kingdom of God, hence he will do everything to make the prayer time ineffective or stop it altogether. For this purpose demons are involved in working upon the believer to bring the time of prayer to nought. Demonic activity is mainly upon the mind of the believer to make it ineffective to communicate.
Things like evil thoughts, desires of the flesh, unclean thoughts, distraction and many other things are thrown upon the mind of the believer to distract it and bring the prayer time to an end or make it fruitless. The Word of God calls us to guard our minds-Eph.6:17. Our thought life governs our very actions. Protect your mind against the enemy.
In Daniel 10:12-13, we see how Satan hindered the answer to Daniel's prayer for 3 weeks. Demonic activity can do that; but God's purposes cannot be stopped altogether or forever.
Demonic activity is not only against the believer but also against the Churches, their ministry and much more. Divisions, disagreements, negative attitudes , passivity, neglect of duties, are only a few of the things Satan employs to bring the work of a Church to no effect. However, we cannot always blame Satan for all the problems in a Church since the lack of spirituality is responsible for a good part of the problems which result in a lack of effective prayer.
Hindrance to prayer from our flesh is not always clear either.
Jesus said on one occasion, 'The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak' Mark 14:38. How is it that many a time when we get down to pray we find that we shirk from the activity to the point that we are not really willing to devote ourselves to it? This can sometimes be to plain fatigue. The Lord said that the natural man is at enmity with God. Our flesh wants to have its way but we have to be strong in our spirits and dictate the terms to the flesh and tell it that it will not have its way. Our spirits should dictate the terms to the soul and not the other way round. Remember, the flesh has a strong ally-Satan. Paul gives the answer to this problem-Rom.7:15.
We cannot blame Satan for all these failures either but we need to see that half of the problem is due to our own lack of spirituality. If we fail to see the importance of prayer and communion with God in our lives it is not all Satan's fault. If we do not grow in the Faith it is due to our own failure to feed on the Word and Pray adequately. Satan knows our Achilles tenon so he strikes hard at the believer. He knows when and how to whisper in our ears the things that distract us and paralyse us during prayer time. The flesh will tell us that prayer time can be postponed with the usual excuses we produce.
How do we deal with this kind of problem effectively? Paul admonishes us (Col.3:5-10) to deal with the flesh mercilessly-Crucifixion. No soft treatment or persuasion. Done on a daily basis, we need to deal with the source not just the products. The flesh will never be reformed neither will it be saved and it will always be a source of trouble in our Christian lives.
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