A Prayer When You Haven't Prayed in a While - Your Daily Prayer - July 12

A Prayer for When You Haven't Prayed in a While
By Alicia Searl

“The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.” - Psalm 145:18

How is your prayer life? I ask this question because I remember being on fire for God at the beginning of my faith journey. There was a desire to be in constant communication with Him; it was so special and sweet. Then, over time, my “fire” from within sort of dwindled, and while I still communicated with God, it wasn’t as consistent. Since then, I must admit I have gone through seasons where I am in regular communication with God and times in which I am wandering through a prayer desert that is barren and dry. Yet, I can’t help but think of a time God intervened when my prayer life was “iffy” and the sequence of events that followed.

When my husband and I first got married, let’s just say our faith journey was at a standstill. While I was raised in the church, we only attended here and there, so that became my perspective on faith and prayer as well. I guess you could say I didn’t fully understand the purpose of prayer, and I only lifted up my heart to God every now and then. My husband, on the other hand, was raised to pray for everything, thanks to his precious grandmother, who etched that into his heart at a young age. Yet even he was in a rut in his faith and prayer life.

We were living aimlessly at that point, but God made it quite apparent that He was pursuing our hearts and wanted more for us. It began when my husband came home from work, took my hand, and told me he wanted to talk about something. His co-worker had invited us to this new marriage class meant just for newlyweds. He went on and on about how the class was made up of couples our age, and we could make friends and maybe grow our faith. He seemed excited and really wanted to go. Well, truth be told, so did I! Because you see, I had received the same message from a friend at work about the very same newlywed class! God made a bold move that day, and we saw the writing on the wall, so we decided to go.

That Sunday, we nervously walked into a bustling group of about twenty couples mingling and somehow managed to find our co-workers who had invited us . We even made a few new friends, who we are still friends with to this very day! Do you want to know the very first question the Bible study leader asked this group of newly married couples? How is your prayer life? Whoa. Let’s just say it had been a while since I prayed, so upon hearing those words, I sank and felt as if that simple (yet powerful) question was directly aimed at me.

Maybe you can relate? Maybe it’s been a minute since you opened up your heart in prayer. I know how hard and intimidating it can be to put your hands together when it’s been a while. I know the pressure to say the perfect words, come into His presence with the right heart and frame of mind, and the feelings of unworthiness when stumbling into prayer after a long absence. Those feelings are valid and understandable. But God doesn’t want your “perfect performance of a prayer." He just wants your heart. The purpose of our prayers is to communicate with our Creator, who sees and knows all and loves us anyway. So, as Psalm 145:18 says, “Just call upon Him.”

Not sure where to start? Begin with some of the simple and honest prayers below as a guide and go from there. Are you ready?

Let’s pray:

God, it’s me. It’s been a while. Please forgive my absence, I miss You. Will you help me come to You more often? I really need You. Amen. Lord, I’m here. I’m willing and ready to begin our line of communication again. I need Your help and wisdom. Please grant me strength to seek You. Amen. Father, thank you for everything. I know I haven’t been able to come before You in quite some time. I need You to forgive me; please help me accept your forgiveness. Amen. God, I’m not sure where to start, but I do know that I really want You to be the center of my life. I am in desperate need of Your wisdom and want to chase after what You want. Amen. Here I am, God. I am all Yours. I want to be obedient and seek to understand Your will and Your ways. Help me learn to pause and seek You in every season of my life, in want and in plenty. Amen.

Photo credit: ©GettyImages/fizkes

Alicia Searl is a devotional author, blogger, and speaker that is passionate about pouring out her heart and pointing ladies of all ages back to Jesus. She has an education background and master’s in literacy. Her favorite people call her Mom, which is why much of her time is spent cheering them on at a softball game or dance class. She is married to her heartthrob (a tall, spiky-haired blond) who can whip up a mean latte. She sips that goodness while writing her heart on a page while her puppy licks her feet. Visit her website at aliciasearl.com and connect with her on Instagram and Facebook.

Editor's Note: We're proud to announce we've just launched a new nighttime companion to Your Daily Prayer: the Your Nightly Prayer devotional. You'll soon be able to subscribe to receive Your Nightly Prayer via email, or as a podcast, but for now you can find it on the website at crosswalk.com/devotionals/your-nightly-prayer. We hope it's a relaxing and soothing way to wind down your day with rich meditations on who God is.

Related Resource: Jesus Calling - Stories of Faith

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