Is this the way the LORD views "prayer - laziness"? - Discipleship.Network

"Prayer is another way of telling God that we have all confidence in him but no confidence in our own native powers. Neglect of prayer is an effrontry to God , for by it we are saying that we have confidence in the fresh and can operate the spiritual life on a do-it-yourself basis. Strong men (self-strong) neglect prayer, or sometimes slight or ignore it, and therefore show their self-esteem and their near-independence of divine help. But weak men cry to God, because God' strength is guaranteed to be made perfect in their weakness. Is there one great man in the Bible-great, that is in spiritual accomplishments - who was not a man of prayer" - Leonard Ravenhill (Revival Praying - Bethany Fellowship Inc. 1970)

I am still wrestling with the above quote and would appreciate comments from anyone.

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Phil Miglioratti December 6, 2010 15:41

I agree - Too much of our praying is more telling than listening or yielding. I've learned that a good way to begin a prayer, after a time of praise, is to ask a question as to how the Holy Spirit wants to direct my prayers in agreement with the mind of Christ and the will of God (Word of God).
Walter Merilic December 7, 2010 20:49

We cant do anything without God. Prayer is about talking and communing with God. When you read the gospels you will see that Jesus prayed alot. Does this make him week? I don't think it does.I believe we need to pray more than what we do. I heard Billy Graham say that he prayed 8 hours a day and he felt that that wsent enough. The bible says that we should stay in an attitude of prayer. Philippians 4:6 says "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God"(NIV).Ephesians 6:18 says "And pray in theSpirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and request. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints"(NIV).

A christians life should revolve around prayer with God. Thats part of how we maintain a relationship with God. If anyone teaches a different doctrine then this they are teaching heresy. Because as you can see Gods Word stresses that prayer is very important. Look at it this way, if you dont talk to your spouse would this be treating your spouse with love? Of course not. Communication is one of the most important things to make a marriage succesful without it the marriage would die. The same goes with our relationship with God.
Charles Kasumba December 8, 2010 15:28

Walter, I agree with you. However, if we start quantifying the number of hours we stay in prayer, is it there a danger of falling into legalism?
Phil Miglioratti December 8, 2010 15:58

Heard someone say, we need to exchange a prayer life (counting hours and times) for a life of prayer ("...without ceasing").
Walter Merilic December 8, 2010 19:54

All my point is, is that we spend more time with our other gods like the t.v., computer, ipods, and cellphones. The last thing we think about is praying. Lets face it for most of us christians the only time we pray is when things are going wrong. Hardly ever do we speak to God when things are going great. We always think of excuses why we cant pray. We should realize that the creator of the heavens and the earth wants time with us, this is so awesome. The bible says to pray without ceasing, which means never stop. If we do this we dont need to keep track of how long we're in prayer.

Charles Kasumba said:
Walter, I agree with you. However, if we start quantifying the number of hours we stay in prayer, is it there a danger of falling into legalism?