Commentary: Things that make us pray

Todd Gray

May you find that as you call out to God in prayer that He meets you there and assures your heart of His coming aid.”

What drives you to your knees in prayer? 

A pastor friend said, as I was listening to him describe a remarkably difficult time in his pastorate, that this event was certainly causing him to pray, and in his words, “anything that makes you pray is a good thing.” 

While the analogy could be pushed too far, it is safe to say that God calls His children to live in dependence upon Him and there are things that come up in our lives that drive us to cry out to God in prayer.

Here are a few items that prompt believers to earnest prayer: 

1. A wayward child: Any Christian parent with a child living outside the will of God knows the experience of praying for that child day after day and throughout the day. Many Christian couples have had the experience of praying for a child through a particularly challenging time. The great news for us is that our children are not static, meaning that where they are today spiritually may not be where they are six months from now, and our prayers can make a difference in their lives.  

2. A significant illness: When the doctor delivers the news that you have cancer, or have had a heart attack, or any other serious disease, the response of the believer is to pray and ask others to pray with us. I am currently praying for several ministry leaders’ families who are experiencing significant medical issues, and I am praying with confidence that God will help those families.  

3. An empty church building: There are few things that drive pastors, elders, deacons and Sunday school teachers to their knees more quickly than an empty church building. When 30 people are gathering in a space that can accommodate 200, then the most natural thing we can do is cry out to God in prayer. With 80 percent of Kentuckians not attending any church on Sunday morning, we need a spiritual awakening in our time and the fastest route to new life in a church is by beginning on our knees.  

4. A church conflict: When the church family is at odds, it is time to pray. Paul the Apostle addressed a church conflict in Philippians 4, and it is likely that any pastor, elder or deacon who serves a church for any length of time will be forced to lean into a conflict in their congregation. We are never praying more like Jesus than when we are praying for the unity of His people (John 17:20-21). 

5. A lost loved one: There are few things more concerning than the awareness that a member of one’s immediate family has rejected the gospel and is living their life in danger of hell. The reality of their spiritually dangerous position must prompt us to passionate prayer as we ask God to bring conviction into their heart and faithful witnesses across their path.  

6. A pressing preaching assignment: My ministry assignment with the KBC sometimes has me preaching local church revivals. These are times when the members of a church will come together, usually a Sunday morning through Wednesday night series of services, for worship, fellowship and preaching. These assignments always require me to cry out to God for spiritual power and clarity in preaching. What I usually discover is that by the end of the week, I have experienced a sense of spiritual renewal in my own life.  

7. Spiritual battles: There have been a few times in my life in Christian ministry leadership that could not be explained apart from spiritual warfare. Those were times when I not only prayed for myself, but I asked my wife to pray with me and for me. When you feel that you are under spiritual attack, the best thing to do is get on your knees, if you are able to, and cry out to God to deliver you from the attack of the evil one.

While dozens of other circumstances could be listed as motivations for fervent prayer, these will suffice to remind us that our help comes from the Lord and when we are in need we can, and must, turn to our Heavenly Father. He hears our prayers and sends His help. May you find that as you call out to God in prayer that He meets you there and assures your heart of His coming aid. As a pastor friend of mine is known for saying, “Pray, pray, pray — and when you get tired of praying, pray some more.” 

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