One the greatest sins in the church is not necessarily gossip, strife, addictions, adultery, or fornication–even though all these things are sin. What I believe is the greatest sin today, especially in America, is the sin of prayerlessness or leaving God alone.
We can easily become caught in the trap where our only consistent time of prayer is offered before each meal and that’s about it. You know what I mean by the meal prayers, don’t you? “God is good; God is great. I’m so hungry I could eat this plate.” I’ve been so hungry before that sometimes I have felt like eating the plate.
One time when I prayed a quick prayer over my meal, I felt the Lord say, “Now, Hank, did you mean that from your heart?” Like most of us, I didn’t mean or even hear what I had prayed. Since then, I always feel convicted when I pray insincere prayers, even if the food is making my mouth water.
Prayer, however, is about so much more than that. The truth is that we need a deep commitment to prayer that goes far beyond our meals. Additionally, it is far more than praying only when problems arise. I have found prayer becomes easy when you are in some kind of trouble. It seems like you have more energy to reach out to God when you need an answer to a difficult situation. But God has our time consistently, regardless of what circumstances are present in our lives.
The way to develop this type of personal relationship with God–the kind that moves His heart-is to set a time and a place to meet Him. The Lord looks forward to your special time together. You can become determined to not leave God alone by developing a consistent prayer habit. Give God the desire of His heart–He wants to be with you, to spend time with you. Be committed to it until the habit takes a permanent hold in your life.
