Encouraging prayer. God offers an open invitation for His people to talk with Him at any time about anything. On encouraging prayer, Dr. James Banks, author of the best-selling Prayers for Prodigals and many other books on prayer, provides weekly biblical insight to help you learn to love to pray. And now, here's James.
Oh, today on encouraging prayer. No, for me personally, this one strikes really close to home. It's the topic today is bored by prayer, and it kind of you know hit me like, oh man, yeah. Unfortunately, way too often. Yeah, it happens.
Can we talk? I mean, think about it. Do you ever just think? I don't know what to say. I just I get bored when I'm praying, and sometimes I, you know, I wonder it just doesn't feel like anybody's listening, or I don't feel very close to God.
We've all had those times, and and often they can happen when we haven't been praying much. Already, and I think it's just good for us to have a heart-to-heart about that today, because I think we can really encourage each other. Please, yeah.
So, what do you do? You know, what what do you do? What are some practical things you can do if you're just not feeling it when it comes to prayer? And one of the things that I like to do, especially this time of year. Is just go for a walk.
I mean, the fall is such a beautiful time, especially where we are here in North Carolina, and just taking the time to say I'm I'm going to get out, and especially if you can get out in nature, and we live right by the woods here, so it's a beautiful place for us to just get out and have a little talk with Jesus, you know. Oh, I love it! I do the exact same. You know, here by the station is Bathabur Park. It's a historic park, and there is a wonderful hill you can walk up to to God's Acre, which is a cemetery.
Where the cemetery of people from the 1700s, but it is amazing the talks you can have with God in a cemetery. Oh yeah, yeah, and especially with some of those amazing tombstones. Those will be conversation starters. You know, really, yeah, and and so another thing you can do is just place a chair in front of you, and and this is an old one you've heard about it, but you know sometimes just. Putting a chair in in front of you and imagining that Jesus is sitting in that chair, and having a conversation with Him, using your imagination to help you pray, can really jumpstart things in a good way.
I absolutely love that one personally, and another one I've adopted a little bit more to something I've done for years. Recently, I heard recently that you know a servant. Would have to come in the back door, and they'd have to either take off their shoes or at least clean their feet. But they said a son can dirty feet and all jump right through the front door and come jumping into the father's lap, realizing, you know, sometimes we may be dirty, but the father is dying to see us. And so, actually, that's what I've been doing recently.
James is is taking that dive from the front door. Saying, Lord, I know my feet are dirty, but I need you. And have fun. Yeah, yeah, and that makes me think about something we've talked about before, and that is leaning on your pillow. And imagine that, you know, think about John leaning on Jesus at the Last Supper, and just imagine that you're leaning on Jesus, and talk to him that way.
That can be such a helpful thing. Oh, and there's a scripture. And in fact, that's another one I've used recently, because the thirteenth verse of the first chapter of the Song of Solomon says, "He lies all night between my breasts." It's talking about the beloved, which is what he, you know.
So there's that's the other position is Jesus, we lay on me. You know, how fun? Yeah, yeah. Again, I think what we're saying in all of this is. If you're bored by prayer, do it anyhow.
Take the step, but be creative, because again, God is the author of creativity, and He has ways. First of all, just talk to Him about it, and that's the beautiful thing we can, because we can call Him Abba, Father, right? Yeah, and we can go right to Jesus and and say. Lord, I just I'm having a hard time praying, and I I need your help with it. And maybe there's a particular reason that you're having trouble praying.
Talk with him about that. But of course, all of us are are so conditioned, and increasingly so, with our cell phones toward these instantaneous responses. And I think we need to pray for God to heal us of that. As well, when it comes to spending time with him, because obviously, as well, and here comes another one. Prayer is sometimes listening, and just saying, you know what, I'm I'm going to take a moment, and I got nothing.
I'm just going to sit quietly, but I'm going to try to be attentive. Try to be attentive, even if it's just for 60 seconds, and and just listen for him. You know, and that that reminds me that often when I feel like man, everything I'm doing is hitting the ceiling. I'm not feeling you, Lord. I'll actually open my Bible to a favorite passage of some kind, ask the Holy Spirit.
You know, talk to me in this, show me something I hadn't seen before, and it's amazing. Like something will jump out at me, and the next thing I know, I'm often running and I feel. Like man, I mean, he's right there in his word, and that's a beautiful place for me.
Sometimes when I'm feeling bored, yeah, yeah, and there are so many other things that we could do. You know, I think about. Praying in, praying, breathing in, praying in His Spirit. You know, fill me with Your Spirit as I inhale, Lord, and and exhaling. You know, confessing Your sin and just letting that go and and stepping away from it, and you know, taking some breaths like that when you're going for a walk, for example, is a great way to pray.
Or you don't have any words, just pray the name of Jesus over and over again. And again, God will help us as we do this, but we just have to bring ourselves to Him. That's what matters, and He'll help us with the rest. Oh, this be a good time to pray promptly.
Well, let's let's do it, Abba Father. Thank you, thank you, that you love us with a love that is more tender than we can possibly imagine, and that you know how we are formed and. Yet you bend to our weakness. You lift us to yourself, to yourself. You you you bless us, and Hava help us, help us to just run to you, to rest in you, Jesus.
Help us to to love you with our prayers, because there is nothing better than your love. It is in your name we pray. Amen. Amen. You can hear more from Pastor James by visiting his website jamesbanks.org or by visiting Peace Church in Durham, North Carolina.
May God bless you and encourage you as you pray.
