As I think many people struggle with their prayer life, do I pray often enough, are my prayers repetitive, do I always have to be on my knees? I think we sometimes question, am I even doing this right? In Luke 18:1 we’re told “That men always ought to pray and not lose heart” and I think I know why.
Recently I had been thinking of a couple of buddies I had when I was younger. We did everything together, we rode dirt bikes together, as guys do, we picked on each other, we played pranks on each other, we discussed girls with each other, and mostly, we just really enjoyed each other's company. If I seem as if I am talking about them as in the past, I am. As close as we were, as much as we gave each other probably bad advice about women, and no matter how much we enjoyed hanging around each other. When we begin to stop hanging out, when we stop talking as often as we used to, when we stop reaching out, we begin to lose touch, even though that's the last thing we wanted. I believe, so it is with God, when we begin to not hang out together as much as we used to, when we don't talk like we used to, when we stop reaching out, we lose touch, even if that's the last thing we wanted.
So, “we always ought to pray” makes perfect sense. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says “pray without ceasing.” More good advice. To answer the questions I posed at the beginning of this, “do I pray often enough”? I know you can't pray too often. “Are my prayers repetitive”? Who cares, just pray. “Do I always have to be on my knees”? Of course not, just pray. We are told to pray, pray, pray, whether we are good at it or not, just pray!