A Woman's Call to Prayer :: Chapter 2

Chapter 2 :: Ten Reason Women Don't Pray-- Part 1

No praying woman accomplishes so much

with so little expenditure of time

as when she is praying.

--C. E. Cowman

1) Worldliness- We live "in the world" (John 17:11) and are effected by our worldly surroundings more than we realize or think.  There is nothing in the world that encourages us to pray.  There are no voices in the world admonishing us to be spiritually minded.  And prayer is a spiritual exercise. But prayer and praying give us a measure of immunity against the world.  For instance, I've noticed that when I get up early and make prayer a priority and take the time to seek God through His Word and prayer, a fire of passion for Him is ignited, fueled,  and fanned until its flame is brilliant.

My thoughts, my heart, my concerns, my focus, my desires all become more noble when time is taken to lift my heart heavenward through prayer. ( This is SO true!!)

He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness

Psalm 107:9

2) Busyness-- Another reason we don't pray is because we don't take the time to pray. And usually the culprit is busyness. 

We must learn to stop in the midst of all of the busyness and to stop all of the busyness... and pray.  A woman who is too busy to pray is simply too busy!

3) Foolishness-- Whenever we become consumed with what is foolish and trivial, we will also surely find ourselves failing to pray. It's a given! (And I am sure we would both agree that failing to pray might well be the ultimate act of foolishness for a woman of God!)

We lose sight of the primary thing in life-- our relationship with God. We foolishly and frivolously begin to spend our very limited and priceless time and our already-insufficient energy on wrong and inferior things.  We fail to "seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness" so that all the other things we need in life can be added to us (Matthew 6:33)

He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.

-Jim Elliot-

Evaluate your heart-- Identify three things you can do to turn your back on the world and your heart toward spiritual things, toward the heavenly, toward the eternal. 

Now, how can you "turn your eyes upon Jesus" so that the things of this world will grow steadily more dim?

Evaluate your lifestyle--Think about your daily routine and not the multitude of ways you spend your God-given time (some of which is meant to be spent in prayer). 

Now, how can you make time for "the one thing" that Jesus pronounced most needful, for "the one thing" that shall never be taken away from you? How can you make time for prayer? How can you make your desire to pray become a reality?

Evaluate your priorities-- Ask God to show you areas of foolishness in your life. ( I know, we hate to admit it, but it's true--they're there! Pray this prayer: "Lord, please reveal those things in my life that are secondary to a life committed to prayer.  What less things are wasting my time and energy? What foolish things are wasting my time and energy? (Prov 28:13)

pg. 22-30