Encouraging Prayer - Prayer FATIGUE

Christmas gift why not the one with the chicken leaving applicable waves as Christmas gifts chicken maybe it's not the get for your family, but it gives the perfect gift for poor family ninja chicken can break the cycle of poverty for poor family yes chicken chickens and provide food and nourishment for family and they can sell those eggs at the market for income when you donate a chicken or any other gospel for Asia. 1% of what you give goes to the field and get the ball went gospel fundraiser to support family of Jesus family this Christmas and give them a six explanation see chickens and camping. This is Mike Swick from if not for God podcast our show stories of hopelessness turned and I hope your chosen Truth Network podcast is starting to just seconds. Enjoy it Sharon but most of all, thank you for listening and for choosing The Truth Podcast Network. This is the Truth Network encouraging prayer, God offers an open invitation for his people to talk with him at any time about anything encouraging prayer Dr. James Banks, author of the best-selling and many other books on prayer provides weekly physical insight help you learn to mom and now I'm encouraging prayer when I talk about something many of us don't quite know how to express what happens when you prayed and prayed for something and maybe you seen some answers. But you been praying for a while and you feel like you for things to say so James you've come up with a term for this never heard it before but you call it prayer, fatigue) of the past week I received a letter from a mom. Praying for prodigal son and she seen other friends receive answers to their prayers for their product and now she's wondering why it's taking so long and she's tired she told me I have seen. I prayed for his kids and after two or three years I've seen them come back. But my son is still out there so let my heart really went out to her and she would listen to an interview done with with my son Jeffrey whose course of formal former prodigal, in which touched on this topic. Jeff and I have prayer fatigue and she said the term captured exactly what it was she was feeling a little like places in the Psalms were David asks how long will anyone is tried for a while about something is probably asked that question James house a concept or prayer fatigue different from just waiting on God are both related to put up this way when you're waiting on God.

It's it's almost a sense that you've done everything that you can and you're just waiting for an answer prayer fatigue takes waiting to hold level because you know you need to keep praying about your situation because your situation needs it desperately. But you feel like you've run out of words so you know you need to storm the gates if you will, but you've got nothing.

You are so caught in that awkward place of wanting to continue to fight the battle but you wonder why nothing is changed and you don't know how long you can go on when you've already prayed about everything that you think that you can see what you mean that you encounter that frequently with currency products.

I really have because sometimes you praying for years and and sometimes your prayers even outlive you. So were talking about marathon praying here and sometimes you hit a wall. See her friend what happens to distance runners try to get to the point where they can go on but they push through and somehow find strength they didn't know they have no just a few moments before.

So James, how you help people push through like that will swear the reasons personal Chronicles was written. I had hit my own wall and praying for my kids and I knew I had to keep running to God. So just kept pushing going back to the word of God, trying to find new motivation and new approaches to prayer praying about everything I could think of and that became a block. But there was also something else that happened along. That something that really got me through and help me to go the distance and I was saying was that something or someone exactly it with someone. It was one of the things I began to learn will write that book was the importance of being still before God coming to him without an agenda of my own and and just learning how to rest in him and you don't give everything to him and that and if you think about it when when you're for key it's rest you need. Most of all, and God has a way of meeting us in that place were just focused on him, and nothing else.

Think of no less a profit than a larger and the emotional struggle. He faced after you show down the profits of bail when you first Kings even though he won that show down the dangerous still out there for them. He's looking at the circumstances and you know what he told God I think shows that prayer fatigue was part of what was going on there. After all, you know, he faced the struggle with unfaithfulness in in the people of Israel gone on for years and if praying about it and then he thinks he sees something good happen and then he's running for his life.

So first Kings 19 you see Elijah worn out on two occasions in first, God sent the angel to care for the second time God appears to him, but of course this is a unique circumstance and in the history of Israel, so it would be a mistake to extrapolate that the same things that would happen there would happen to us. However, in both instances when Elijah just gives the whole thing to God. God strengthens Elijah and he stops in the rest, and in Elijah's completely honest with God about his circumstances, you know, I see something in that just as God appeared to Elijah.

I believe that is as we do that is we shut down everything and just go to God. I believe he will give us more of himself more of his peace a greater sense of his presence. But again we we have to just focus entirely. There James. It seems like were talking about what were trying but here's the difference between praying in our own strength and the strength God can find and it's so much easier to do that when you're feel deeply about something right. Like when you're just longing for someone you love the time from a lifestyle that's harming that's exactly right Robbie, but but it's in that place that we especially need to do this need to rest in God and just love him and be with him more than anything else in and just even even praise him if we can because he is our hope and hope begins to come into our lives. More and more as we do this. It's like what we discussed a while ago when we talked about waiting on God for something we either wait for Jesus or we wait with him. And when we wait with him. We find it were able to go the distance to not experience a smile marks as well James. I mean, there's a change that happens when we run right. The father and just lay it out, including our own misgivings about our snap to be a lack of faith. After all, just coming term. It's just that we, being honest as we possibly can.

Like Elijah and and I believe God treasures that honesty and the fact that Jesus prayed about his myth misgivings in Gethsemane and on the cross, quoting Psalm 22 shows that this doesn't have to be a lack of pain is just being a child of God being open and honest in saying father fix this please Jesus praying from Scripture also shows us something we can do done absolutely praying Scripture's prayers like Jesus did.

Again, when he said my God like you forsaken me spring. The first part of Psalm 22 and if you finish that Psalm you'll notice it into triumph.

So, that's amazing, but praying scriptures prayers when you're facing prayer fatigue is like a B vitamin shop for your soul. So be stands for Bible that works for me. There are so many prayers in Scripture that can help us. I collected them and categorize them in my book spring. The person the Bible and bring the person the Bible for everyday needs, but when we pray scriptures prayers were praying prayers that are already inspired by the spirit and that's a way of drawing close to God and in a way that he will encourage and strengthen us when when we feel like were all prayed out, jumped in the Psalms and letting me help me pray to make such a difference.

So having all the prayers laid out like that is really awesome. The main thing is just keep going you don't keep pushing good think about marathon illustration can don't stop praying. Even when you've run out of words just run to Jesus and wait with him and you find things get better. Robbie, I'd like to finish up with a prayer for our listeners who are struggling with with prayer fatigue today because this is a real need and I don't think we talk about it enough, please do. Father, I pray for those who are are just wondering how long help.

How much longer they have to keep praying and I don't know what to say but help encourage them leave them to places in your word blessed and Howard done it for me so many times and I know you are faith bless them. I praise Jesus to hear more from Pastor James by visiting the website James Banks.org or by visiting these church in Durham, North Carolina.

May God bless you and encourage you.

You pray this is the Truth Network