According to an early historical document called the Didaché, the first-century Christians maintained regular prayer meetings three times per day (third, sixth, and ninth hour). But a century later, the Christians held their prayer meetings only twice per day-Sunrise and sunset. It seems like the passion for prayer started slowly decaying, even up to this present day where statistics say that 20% of church members never pray and the vast majority only do so occasionally. What obstacles to prayer do we face?
Obstacles to Prayer
One of the reasons is the lack of devotion to Jesus (Luke 18:8). The word devotion comes from the Latin devotiones, which refers to consecration. But in practical biblical terms, the word refers to wholehearted commitment to Jesus. Devotion to Jesus refers to close fellowship with Him. In other words, the more devotion we have, the closer we are to Jesus. This devotion should lead us to prayer. What a privilege to communicate with the One who loves us and allows us to pray to him. When devotion decays, prayer suffers. A Christocentric Church or cell group reflects devotion to Jesus that results in committed prayer. Yet the lack of prayer leads to indecision (Matthew 7:7), temptation (Luke 22:46), and strife (James 5:16).
