Pray until you pray.

Especially if you haven’t spent much time in prayer yet, it’s easy to fall into a pattern of praying ritualistically and without depth.

I sometimes see this in my small children: they quickly rattle off their requests and say “Amen” - as if to check off a box, thinking, “Done my duty.”  

But to truly enter the spirit of prayer, we have to linger for a while. My children still have to learn this - and perhaps we do too, if we're just starting out. 

When we pray until we pray, we eventually reach a point where we delight in God's presence and rest in His love. We develop fervency and begin to wrestle in prayer. That takes time. 

If you want to extend your prayer time, take small steps. Gradually increase the length - you probably won’t jump from five minutes a day to sixty right away.  

But God will gently lead you there. It’s like strength training: you wouldn’t load 100kg on the bench press if you’ve only lifted 10kg so far. But if you stay consistent, your prayer muscles will grow steadily. 

Sometimes we don’t know how to pray. Romans 8:26-27 encourages us that the Spirit intercedes for us with groans too deep for words. Our struggle for the right words, our stammering - it all reaches heaven. 

That’s why: “Let us then approach the throne of grace weith confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16) 

M.K.