When Prayer is only a Habit

There is something to be said for the “habit” of prayer.  No spiritual discipline is at its best when it is only a habit, but it will hardly survive our bouts of human apathy if it is never a habit.

There are periods in our Christian walk when our resolve is weak, and we don’t engage those disciplines.  It is helpful to establish them as habits when we are strong so we can persevere when we are not.  Perseverance during weak times is necessary to build the spiritual character and fuel the spiritual passion to pray as we ought.  Let your prayers be more than a habit, but when you don’t feel like praying, it is the habit will keep you going till you desire it again.

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“It is a common temptation of Satan to make us give up the reading or the Word and prayer when our enjoyment is gone; as if it were of no use to read the Scriptures when we do not enjoy them, and as if it were no use to pray when we have no spirit of prayer. The truth is that in order to enjoy the Word, we ought to continue to read it, and the way to obtain a spirit of prayer is to continue praying. The less we read the Word of God, the less we desire it, and the less we pray the less we desire to pray.”

– George Mueller

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The time we don’t feel like praying is the time we most need to pray.