Have you noticed that praying is hard work? Does it seem like the older you get, the harder praying becomes? Our lives just seem to get busier, and we just don’t have time to pray…or so we think.
Martin Luther once said, “I have so much to accomplish today, that I must spend the first three hours in prayer.” Whoa!! Is our response like Luther’s when we have a lot to do? I know mine isn’t. My responce is usually, “I have so much to do today; forget abour praying. I don’t have time for that.”
You know, that exactly where Satan wants us to be? Yes, he fears our prayers, because when men pray, God works. He loves to get us to think that we’re too busy and don’t have time to pray. However, notice the difference prayer makes.
~The Difference Prayer Makes~
I got up early one morning
And rushed right into the day;
I had so much to accomplish
That I didn’t take time to pray.
Problems just tumbled about me,
And heavier came each task;
“Why doesn’t God help me?” I wondered.
He answered: “You didn’t ask.”
I wanted to see joy and beauty–
But the day toiled on, gray and bleak;
I wondered why God didn’t show me,
He said, “But you didn’t seek.”
I tried to come into God’s presence,
I used all my keys at the lock;
God gently and lovingly chided:
“My child, you didn’t knock.”
I woke up early one morning
And paused before entering the day;
I had so much to accomplish
That I had to take time to pray.
~ Author Unknown
So, why is prayer so hard, you wonder? Well, like I said earlier, Satan doesn’t want us to pray. He fears our prayers. Eph. 6:12 gives a good reason why prayer is so hard. “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
So the next time you don’t feel like praying because it’s hard, remember that you’re not in this alone. There are many of us who experience this same struggle–myself included. Also, keep in mind that when you don’t feel like praying, that is the time that you really need to be praying. Remember the difference prayer makes and travel on your knees. Start small and watch for big results! 
