All You’ve Got

Do you pray?

It’s a fairly simple question that often generates a complicated answer.

“Well, sort of.”

“I mean, I guess.”

“Sometimes.”

Now, I get it. For many of us, our first reaction—if we’re not the praying type—is guilt. “Gosh, he’s talking about prayer. I never pray. I’m just such a terrible Christian. I’m such a bad friend to God. I’ll never be able to live up to what He’s asking me to do.”

Some of you may find yourself reading this and you don’t even believe in God and so you find yourself really defensive right now, “I don’t need this. I don’t even know what you’re talking about. My life is fine. Why would I need a “God” to talk to?” 

But, can I just encourage you? If you have any reservations regarding prayer, let’s all just take a moment and slow down, take a deep breath, and take inventory of, as my friend Jeanne Stevens says, “What’s here now.”

And then—hear me—understand that God is willing to meet you right where you’re at.  

Whether you’ve been faithfully following Him for years, rejecting him profusely, or have landed in some sort of lazy middle, God is here in this present moment! 

David, the Psalmist says this in Psalm 139:7-10 says, “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.” 

So, what does this mean? It means that—as the philosopher Thomas á Kempis said, “wherever you are, there you are.” In other words, wherever you’re at, it’s enough. So start. Engage. Pray. Whatever it is that you can, pray. 

I love how my Senior Pastor at Northview Church, Steve Poe, says it, he always says, where prayer focuses, power falls. 

Whether you feel like all you can muster is “Dear God,” or if you’re in lock step with the Holy Spirit and praying and conversing comes naturally, there is power in your prayer.

My friends, do not allow the enemy to instill doubt, discouragement, or defeat in your mind, heart and soul, and keep you from engaging our God in relationship. 

Start where you are. Give it all you’ve got.

It’s enough.

Be encouraged.