Why A Lack of Prayer?
Why A Lack of Prayer?
Andrew Murray touches on the topic of prayerlessness in his book, “The Prayer Life.” While there are many reasons we do not pray, Murray pinpoints the root of prayerlessness to unbelief. We see in Scripture (Matthew 17:14-20) the disciples struggled with unbelief. Their unbelief led to powerlessness. They were casting out demons in their own strength, but relying on God to bless. Our strength is never good enough and is worthless to God.
Murray goes on to say, “If the life is not one of self-denial – of fasting…faith cannot be exercised. A life lived according to the flesh and not according to the Spirit – it is in this that we find the origin of the prayerlessness of which we complain.”
(Murray, 19)
In both of these cases, prayerlessness and the lack of Spirit filled living, we can see the root of unbelief. If we don’t believe wholeheartedly the living Word (that we say we love) it can lead to a life full of everything but the life we desire in Christ. For example, we know that God loves us more than anyone could imagine loving, but we
go to other sources to find love that leaves us empty and used. Or, we see that Christ heals the brokenhearted, yet sometimes as Christians we wallow in our hurt and
brokenness. Anything in our life that deters us from Christ is not worth grabbing onto and will bring us to a life of unbelief and prayerlessness.
I love stories of great faith! I happened across an awesome story one day while reading “More of Paul Harvey’s The Rest of The Story,” by Paul Aurandt. As you may know Paul Harvey’s stories are true even though some sound fictitious. He writes of a church congregation in North Carolina who was looking for land to build a church. They wanted to purchase land from a gentleman in town but he turned them down so they purchased a piece on the other side of town…far from an ideal location. They
began constructing and on September 16th the church held a dedication ceremony. Three days later, a terrible storm hit the town and flooded much of the town. The next day the church completely uprooted and started floating down the street.
Nothing was able to stop this floating chapel. The church floated right through the center of town, and made a sharp right turn. It continued, turning 2 blocks down to a
vacant lot stopping right in the center. The vacant lot was owned by the gentleman that refused to sell them the land! The man then presented the church
Pastor with the deed! The church's website is right here...
http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~jmack/photos/providen.htm
I love it! Love it! Love it! I could go on and on recounting stories I have read or heard about…But, while I love a good faith story it saddens me that sometimes I settle to hear other accounts while being satisfied with my own. My life can stay the same while I read someone else’s story? I don’t want that to be the case. I want to be a child of belief, one that seeks after God and relies solely on Him for the impossible.
Andrew Murray touches on the topic of prayerlessness in his book, “The Prayer Life.” While there are many reasons we do not pray, Murray pinpoints the root of prayerlessness to unbelief. We see in Scripture (Matthew 17:14-20) the disciples struggled with unbelief. Their unbelief led to powerlessness. They were casting out demons in their own strength, but relying on God to bless. Our strength is never good enough and is worthless to God.
Murray goes on to say, “If the life is not one of self-denial – of fasting…faith cannot be exercised. A life lived according to the flesh and not according to the Spirit – it is in this that we find the origin of the prayerlessness of which we complain.”
(Murray, 19)
In both of these cases, prayerlessness and the lack of Spirit filled living, we can see the root of unbelief. If we don’t believe wholeheartedly the living Word (that we say we love) it can lead to a life full of everything but the life we desire in Christ. For example, we know that God loves us more than anyone could imagine loving, but we
go to other sources to find love that leaves us empty and used. Or, we see that Christ heals the brokenhearted, yet sometimes as Christians we wallow in our hurt and
brokenness. Anything in our life that deters us from Christ is not worth grabbing onto and will bring us to a life of unbelief and prayerlessness.
I love stories of great faith! I happened across an awesome story one day while reading “More of Paul Harvey’s The Rest of The Story,” by Paul Aurandt. As you may know Paul Harvey’s stories are true even though some sound fictitious. He writes of a church congregation in North Carolina who was looking for land to build a church. They wanted to purchase land from a gentleman in town but he turned them down so they purchased a piece on the other side of town…far from an ideal location. They
began constructing and on September 16th the church held a dedication ceremony. Three days later, a terrible storm hit the town and flooded much of the town. The next day the church completely uprooted and started floating down the street.
Nothing was able to stop this floating chapel. The church floated right through the center of town, and made a sharp right turn. It continued, turning 2 blocks down to a
vacant lot stopping right in the center. The vacant lot was owned by the gentleman that refused to sell them the land! The man then presented the church
Pastor with the deed! The church's website is right here...
http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~jmack/photos/providen.htm
I love it! Love it! Love it! I could go on and on recounting stories I have read or heard about…But, while I love a good faith story it saddens me that sometimes I settle to hear other accounts while being satisfied with my own. My life can stay the same while I read someone else’s story? I don’t want that to be the case. I want to be a child of belief, one that seeks after God and relies solely on Him for the impossible.
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