TRUE ESSENCE OF PRAYER;
“Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (James 5:16).
Many have often chastised themselves for not being able to pray for long hours. Well, God never said until we spend long hours in prayers He isn’t going to hear us. Remember, He lives in eternity; therefore He’s not regulated by minutes and hours as we are in the earth. Thus, in a sense, the significance or essence of prayer is not in its protraction in terms of the number of hours spent praying. It’s not “how long” you pray that really makes an impact; it’s “how right” you pray.
Many spend long hours in prayer, saying the wrong things, hence their lives are unfulfilled, being void of the spiritual results and impact of prayer. They have missed the true essence of prayer, which is fellowship and communion with the Lord. That communion not only builds your relationship with Him, but also helps transform your personality from glory to glory. What God wants is for you to spend quality time alone with Him, away from everything else. For example, you’d be amazed how much impact a fifteen or thirty minute time alone with the Lord, spent praying intensely in the Spirit, will produce in your life.
Of course it’s desirable and advisable to spend longer periods with the Lord in fellowship. The significance of prayer is therefore not in its length, especially in the eyes of others; it’s the beauty of fellowshipping with the Most High, away from everything else. That fellowship enriches and strengthens your spirit, while improving your life in a tremendous way.
Further Study:
Matthew 6:5-8