Why I Struggle to Pray...and How I Overcame It!

[@thebeatagp]

Hey BEAT family! I’d love for you to sign up for my upcoming Master Your Faith Challenge. Here is the link! go.letsequip.com/myf. Thanks!

[@angelicagalabuzi1131]

Thanks for being honest on his topic of prayer. It is encouraging to me who also struggles similarly.

[@hotopics877]

I became a seventh day Adventist because they teach all the truth about God everyone else like you sir teach false doctrine I use to listen to your channel until I realize you teach false doctrine seven day Adventist teach all the right things and your dead wrong about them you teach false doctrine so I have not listened to you for years now I saw a video about how you're bashing seven day Adventist there the true remnant of God they teach Sabbath is Saturday which is the truth Sunday is not the Sabbath false teachers say Sunday is Sabbath day like you do

[@maxinemosley7839]

Yes, I struggle in different seasons. After crying out for a long time years, over my son and no change I had just gave up. But God, I learned the purpose of praying and God showed up.

[@Gamer1990100]

You know how RARE it is to have people be honest with their struggles? Especially pastors? A nice breathe of fresh air indeed.

[@pofgom05]

I struggle, too, for a few of the same reasons. I try to use PRAY, p=praise, r=repent, a=ASK, y=yield. It has helped me!

[@robynaboverubiesorpearls]

That’s a good one, too! I will have to remember that.

[@lianadotjpeg]

What does yield mean in this context?

[@roscopcoltrane7963]

@@lianadotjpeg yield to God’s will would be my assumption. Not our will, but his.

[@mattiewilliams1138]

Thank you will def use this!!!

[@traceyray6498]

1. Prayer requires patience 2. Question whether God will answer 3. Distractions 4. Unworthy 5. Misunderstood the purpose of prayer Work on: 1. Redefine prayer - be transparent 2. Set aside time 3. Pray with another person 4. Stop saying you’ll pray for someone unless you do it 5. Use the ACTS method - adoration, confess, thanksgiving supplication pray for others 6. Do not use phone 7. Do not use a fixed location,pray on a walk 8. Keep a prayer journal 9. Read a prayer 10. I missed one sorry - pray for me ☺️

[@BDharris]

Thank you for sharing your notes! You did not miss one! “Read a prayer” was the last one. God bless, keep and encourage you!🙏🏼🤗

[@Ndumukristu]

Be blessed 🙏🏾

[@jennygrim2057]

Thank you for the summary! You got so many don't worry!! ❤ I prayed for you! 😊

[@teenel7918]

thank you and thats ok lol

[@2ndPigeon]

The Muslims got it down pretty hard with their 5 times a day thing.

[@debbieappoleon1649]

A tip I learned from a pastor from Congo is that during prayer, we should put our phones on AIRPLANE mode, as this is the time we "take off" to go reach God and reduce the space between Heaven and Earth. Best tip ever for me! 🙏🏽

[@KBloves1trueGOD]

I don't struggle with waiting for my prayers to be answered. I struggle with actually "praying". Keeping my mind focused. Being able to articulate what it is I'm praying for. Am I praying right? Etc

[@anikrossignol8809]

Same! I don’t know where to begin most of the time. Especially out loud :(

[@Sunnyday45]

I feel so encouraged by how conscientious you are about praying it's wonderful he has given you that will to care. Keep asking him to help you pray, before you start to pray to him. Ask for his holy spirit to guide you in prayer, however he knows your heart and what your trying to say as he knows everything, keep asking him to help you block out thoughts and concerns so you can focus more in prayer. We live in a fallen busy world occupying our minds pray for his holy spirit to lead your thoughts. For alot of believers it's like trying to pray on a battle field so pray for protection and in prayer ❤

[@nahomiebobo7430]

Hi sis you can ask the holy spirit to help fasting is the way to go

[@frchristie]

Keep on praying out loud. When I finally 'could' pray, I always yawned. Big one. But I never yawned when I skip praying and instead working. And I wasn't sleepy. Those yawns disappeared after around 1 year. So keep on praying (note to myself too)!

[@Workingcockers]

I struggle with keeping my mind focused as well. I have ADD and since I was a child could not focus. I failed 2nd grade and had to repeat it. It’s a life long struggle for me. At my age, I just live with it. I can pray and actually wonder a minute or two later what I was praying. I can also pray and forget what I was praying about. It is frustrating, but God meets us where we are at and accepts us as His children. I find it best to start praying by simply adoring God for who He is, I also struggle with being unworthy. When I sin, I just want to hide from God.

[@ktmkarl]

Prayer sometimes is not about what God can give you, it's about what you can give God.

[@txthumper5853]

I have a prayer acronym too. It's similar to yours, WRAPP. It's Worship Repent, Ask, this is where I pray for others, and myself, Pour, i pour my heart out to my Father Psalm 62:8, Praise And that's a wrapp 😄

[@GreekYogurtGranola]

I love your honesty. We need more Christians like this!

[@KoolT]

I believe we all struggle at time's. Life is difficult not easy. ❤

[@5454randy]

"No man/woman is greater than their prayer life" - Leonard Ravenhill

[@joeyrose1245]

My wife and I just returned from a Family Life Weekend To Remember event and it changed our marriage for the better. One of the things we decided to start doing is to pray together every night before we go to bed. So far we have done this 5 days in a row and it has been a blessing for us.

[@OolongG952]

This is so true!!!! Most people stop praying because they think God isn’t answering their prayers. One of the enemy most clever tricks he plays on us.

[@2ndPigeon]

So when My dad died of throat cancer and God did awnser my prayer to save him, that was actually a trick? How does that work?

[@donnagelina8548]

This was very timely for me! What happens to me is I like to pray before I go to sleep and I start, and find myself drifting off to some other memory or thought and keep wandering. I found some prayers that have deep meaning for me and I put them in a document on my laptop and I read them. But when I do that, I feel that I'm cheating because they're someone else's words.

[@annigard8]

Honestly, you're not cheating at all! So don't feel bad. It's just that you found a prayer that articulates words differently to how you would usually pray but the prayer expresses the exact sentiments that you hold important. It is your prayer just as much as it is theirs. I too take ideas from other people's prayers because I often cannot find the words to express my inner groanings. Be blessed by them!

[@donnagelina8548]

@@annigard8 ❤

[@2ndPigeon]

This is why I stopped praying. It didn't seem to do anything and my life didn't get worse when I didn't pray.

[@LILJROD90]

I think for me the struggle is never hearing God. I have never once genuinely felt like I was hearing God speak to me or tell me something or giving me direction. Even when I read the Bible. Yeah I hear all those cliches “you want God to speak to you read your Bible. Want to hear Him? Read it out loud” blah blah… maybe I’m just having a cynical day…. But man I just don’t …. I struggle to read my Bible with any efficiency and I just find myself repeating the same prayers over and over and over again…. Feeling pretty stale ATM and I’m not really frustrated with myself…

[@lookingatdaisies9901]

What's your system, I use one called professor horner's Bible system. You follow 10 chapters from 10 different books daily until you get through the Bible. You start seeing how everything is connected, someone could be quoting the prophet Joel in the new testament Gospels and one of the 10 books might be reading at the same time is Joel's prophesies. It keeps your interest because you're not trying to absorb one book's events, if you get to the genealogy records in one book, you're reading about other themes in other books. It's a plan in the Bible app, so you can automate listening if you use it with a translation that has audio. Hope it helps

[@mauwaasani1663]

I am similar so I can understand what you mean.

[@martinbootneck]

I decided that I wanted to do a 24hr fast one day a week, but I was not sure how to go about it as it was new to me. So I asked God, Jesus AND the Holy Spirit to help me. I was on you tube watching some apologists and nearly every other video was like, 'Why Do Christians Fast?', 'How Do Christians Fast?' when should I fast, how long should I fast, so God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit put these videos up to get my attention and it certainly did.

[@Romans10.17]

I can totally relate to this 100%. This is exactly how I feel. It’s like you wrote this comment for me

[@donnagelina8548]

I totally get what you're saying. While I have a strong faith I don't feel anything when I pray either. I'm not sure we're meant to feel anything. I used to hear Word of Faith type people talk about "God told me this and that", or "God spoke to me today" or some other strong revelation or experience, and this really messed with my head. I felt inadequate, inferior, kind of hopeless. I started getting suggestions on KZbin for content creators like Nate Sala, Justin Peters, Mike Winger,John MacArthur (who's scary to me but I listen anyway!), and of course Alan. They have exposed many of those Word of Faith people as false teachers and what a revelation to know that there was nothing wrong with me; I didn't have to experience a wave of emotion to realize God is listening. I don't belong to a church which is terrible, but I do get valuable teaching from these guys online. I also struggle to understand the Bible by reading it myself, but I substitute teaching from the KZbinrs I mentioned which I feel is extremely valuable. I mean it's better than nothing! I hope to graduate from this but for now it's what I'm doing. Take care.

[@brandyboyd4579]

My therapist at one point told me about “God texts.” Saying a quick little prayer constantly throughout the day. “Thank you, God that the light was green.” And move on. 5 minutes later “Thank you, God for this good parking spot.” On and on! God desires our constant conversation. While longer prayers are lovely, our prayers don’t have to be for them to be meaningful. 😉🥰

[@2ndPigeon]

Why not thank the other driver foe the parking spot instead? God didn't do any of those things. I don't think he'd appriciate it.

[@LetsTalkAbout.TheBible]

Thank you for your honesty and transparency, brother. That first tip, changing the way we view and think about prayer, is the catalyst for change in the life of any believer. I know it was for me. Prayer ought not be looked at as an obligation, but an honor and a privilege. If we got the opportunity to spend just 10-15 minutes every day talking to our favorite athlete, actor, musician, author, etc., we would JUMP at the opportunity. Shouldn’t our desire to spend 10-15 minutes talking with the Creator of the universe be infinitely greater? Viewing prayer in this way completely changed the way that I see and feel towards prayer.

[@yprimrose]

The immediate return to prayer for me is, peace. I immediately feel this peace that comes over me. However, I only started feeling peace when I stopped praying for things and developed a prayer life of praise. Not that I don't ask for things because I do, but that is no longer the focus point of my prayer.

[@myho-pe8655]

My difficulty is that there’s SO MANY TOPICS to pray about and I get stuck not knowing what or how to pray for these things or people. Oh Lord, we thank you for this opportunity to connect with You and come into Your presence. Help us focus on You first, and Your eternal kingdom. Help us to pray in Your will.

[@Bonussister70]

My issue exactly. And then I feel overwhelmed and almost guilty for not paying about everything.

[@cristinabivins2240]

For years I struggled in my prayer life because I grew up being taught that “it had to be an hour-because of the passage w/Jesus and the disciples-AND it had to be early in the morning and on my knees 🫤. I thank God he freed me from that! Over the last 3-4 years I have had a consistent (and constant) prayer life. The ACTS “method” has been a blessing!

[@karlb8069]

This is why God enlightens you! Because you are honest with yourself and not ashamed to share it! Bless you, Sir! Thank you.

[@theangrygamer6427]

It's nice to hear others in the Christian community talk about these things and to know that you aren't the only one who struggles with this

[@acurisur]

I think the biggest problem is that prayer can seem like just a time to request stuff from God, almost like God is a genie. But that really isn't what prayer is supposed to be, all that prayer is is you having a conversation with God, just like you would with a friend. A lot of my prayers are me giving thanks to God for creating me and for continuing to put the breath of life into my body, and thanking God for sending his son to save the world.

[@geraldtyus8645]

Thanks so much.❤ This was so profound.

[@maybeitsmaylyne]

Wow ❤ Love this!

[@paulallen7962]

3 billion Muslims and Hindus on the planet today. He does everything half a**.

[@2ndPigeon]

Are the conversation you have with you friends the same you praying to God then? Does God talk back like your friends do?

[@ivonnegutierrez9744]

Dealing w this struggle as well. Thank you for your transparency and encouragement.

[@Homie-yi5fy]

Same

[@jamesbass6283]

@@Homie-yi5fy Not your struggle alone, it is the whole movement struggling because we have not studied how Jesus prayed.

[@janelleg597]

I just bought some Anglican prayer beads and a prayer book. I decided that praying a little, even the lords prayer, is better than nothing. My plan is to use the beads to structure my prayers throughout the day. I have struggled without any structure. Hopefully doing it more will help prayer become more natural

[@willelliott5052]

Thanks for this. I did not pray regularly until my wife became paraplegic. Now, with rare exceptions, I pray nightly, repeating my request for her to walk again. At this point, I don't expect for that request to be granted, though I persist. We are blessed in most other ways.

[@lovepeacehappiness3924]

Same…. 😩 you definitely not alone on this subject . Thank you so much for your courage . It is…really helpful. I pray the Great Lord give us all… patience, strength , wisdom and a peace of mind to move forward in our prayer life with him . Amen 🙏❤️✝️

[@solariafubu7173]

For me, I struggle with many thoughts and distractions. My prayer appears to be one way

[@paulallen7962]

It definitely is one way. Good that you figured that out.

[@Sunnyday45]

Pray for protection over your mind before you pray to block out distraction, it really works may not not straight away but keep asking and keep praying, he hears you! remember a god who went to the cross for us is not a god who wants a one way only relationship with us❤

[@2ndPigeon]

​@@Sunnyday45if he hears you, why doesn't it happen right away?

[@delaneybucknor3710]

I have a lovely prayer & gratitude journal that has a morning and evening entry. I have no choice but to attend to it twice. It also triggers me to think about what to be grateful for during the day.

[@sarahdanladi1302]

Please can you share it with us?

[@staceystevens9243]

I find my mind wanders sometimes and i just cant find the right words either .

[@raynettescoggins702]

Allen this is good, I work to put GOD first everyday and give my best. When I wake up, early in the mornning, I try not to say good morning to anyone before I say good morning to GOD and thank GOD for another day. I start off doing that, and then I start my prayer, a devotional, and I listen to a 15 to 30 min sermon, usually Charles Stanley (my favorite) you, Allen Parr, or another evangelist I like, or do Grace for a Purpose. I usually close out with Psalms 91 and suit up, with Suit of Armour. This is my daily routine. I love it; however, there are times I struggle, and get lazy, I may sleep in; especially on the weekends, and I may not pray at all. I feel quilty. I love Jesus Christ with all my heart and I pray for better consistency. This video speaks directly to me, thank you.

[@JB-sh7qy]

It’s good to know I’m not alone in this. Thanks for this video.

[@chrismassingill4650]

I love the A.C.T.S.I.! I would encourage to continually give adoration and thanksgiving!! Through out the day! And also, learn to pray in tongues!!! Pray continually!! It’s hard to pray continuously in your known language, but if you pray in tongues, you remove your mind from the equation!! Engage with your spirit man!!

[@djidjine5082]

I don’t struggle with prayer. I struggle with praying in my head or just staying in his presence in silence. When I try to just be still and pray in my head, all kind of weird thoughts come to mind and I start thinking about a bunch of things but praying. But out loud I have no problem praying out loud.

[@TonyThaMan0]

That’s excactly my problem. Thank you for sharing I’m going to pray out loud more often

[@2ndPigeon]

Praying is just talking to yourself so why not raise so interesting topics?

[@PatriciaNewhart]

God ALWAYS answers prayers..sometime the answer is no.

[@2ndPigeon]

@@PatriciaNewhart How can you tell if it's a no or just an unanswered prayer?

[@Allen-a-tor]

Thanks Alan, I totally dig your channel and content. I like the acronym cats because it starts with C- confessions. I like to come to God and “get cleaned up” before praying. C- confessions A- Adoration T- thanksgiving S- supplications Keep up the awesome work my brother. I think that you are making more of an impact for the gospel than you may realize 😇

[@denisejones3164]

Oh my goodness Brother Allen. This video is so on-time! I've been beating myself up for being lazy and/or for being a lukewarm Christian because I struggle mightily with prayer. For a while, I couldn't pray because I was filled with shame about my past life as a lesbian. A trusted friend who had come out of that life also reminded me that I am forgiven and am a new creature in Christ. So shame doesn't rule me anymore. Yet, I struggle with actually praying. Your tips were helpful, and I will implement them immediately. I've been feeling stagnate spiritually and I want to grow spiritually and be strong in my faith. Thank you for your honesty and your heart for people. God bless you!

[@Rae6357]

Allen, I literally prayed this morning about my difficulties with praying.... I asked God to show me that my prayers are being heard and that He wasn't turning His back on me. Then I saw this video you posted. Hmmmm I think the Lord answered my prayer. Thank you for sharing your wisdom with us Allen. GOD BLESS YOU

[@2ndPigeon]

God control the youtube algorithm now? How does he do that?

[@Rae6357]

​@@2ndPigeonthere are no limits to what God can do. Perhaps He simply nudged my conscious to watch this video. I remember a time when I was at a stop sign and hit the gas pedal to dash out and my foot slipped off the pedal and to my surprise a car was in my blind spot. I thanked Jesus right there and then for preventing an accident.

[@2ndPigeon]

@@Rae6357 How can you tell that it was Jesus though? Do you also thank him for when something goes wrong?

[@Rae6357]

​@@2ndPigeonof course not. God gives everyone free will and we often suffer from others choices. The Bible does say that God uses everything for good. We are not all knowing and cannot see and know all that God knows. I give God the glory for everything good in my life. It doesn't mean I never hurt and sometimes I am angry but God understands and there were times He showed me many years later how He "worked it out". Have faith. 😊

[@2ndPigeon]

@@Rae6357 Earlier you said that God might have nudged your consciousness. That's not free will. That's him manipulating you. So which one is it? As the bible says that god created both good and evil I don't know why only attribute one of those to him. Me praying for my father not to die from lungcancer is a good example. His complete silence as he either caused or watched my father die, no matter how much I prayed to him, show that he is indeed the creator of evil. There is no excuse for that.

[@karen1306]

Whenever I need some practical, down to earth, Christian advice, I always turn to THE BEAT!! Never disappointed! God bless you Allen

[@2ndPigeon]

Is this practical? Prayer is anything but.

[@Sunnyday45]

So much power in prayer, powerful weapon used against the enemy why do you think so many believers struggle with it. So dont give up and be defeated pray pray pray pray about everything and anything. Its part of the armour of god💪❤

[@717BossLady]

Thank you 😊

[@donnagrandinetti9001]

Finally someone who actually addresses prayer. I also am impatient which happens to be what I pray about. I will gratefully take your advice. Thank you for this useful and informative video. May God continue to Bless the work of your hands ♥️🙏

[@donnagelina8548]

This is one of my issues as well, I just admit what a "failure" I am and ask for help lol!

[@Toku-Spider2099]

Thank you very much for your confession, Brother Allen! Your open and honest reasons are very understandable! God bless you this Friday!! 🙌 🙏 ❤️

[@Catomar74]

For years I had trouble praying TILL I got in utube - prayers before Bed time. I love to hear CE C E Winan pray . It helps me take their words and I put it into my heart and Times fly and so exciting

[@Tetelestai.John19.30]

Wild I was just yesterday asking our Heavenly Father to help me learn to pray better, and boom. This. God is soo good. Ask and it will be given, seek and you will find. All Praise to God for this video.

[@scotchbudmeister9018]

Thanks for your honesty brother. Distractions are definitely a hinderance. Sometimes if I don't feel like praying, I'll only pray for things I'm thankful for with no requests. The thankful list can grow quite long!

[@stephanielingle1008]

Thank you so much for this session, you have given me a lot of peace on prayer, not only knowing I'm not the only one struggling but good pointers on getting through the struggles. You are definitely one of God's earth angels, keep up your wonderful work for God!

[@shawnwilson183]

I'm so glad to hear Allen talk about this issue. I too have struggled with giving God complete devotion in prayer and making prayer a relationship not a wish list. It's so liberating to just talk with the Lord and not ask for things all the time. He deserves better after all He had done for us.

[@matthewlake3994]

Well done. With all the tips you have given here, I believe most of us has struggled with one or more of them from time to time. Talking with some, sometimes its our own lack of recognition of how much we actually do... we doubt ourselves because of lack of purposeful dedication... but often we do without thinking... I believe that applies to both works and prayer.

[@crayzcubing]

I've struggled with prayer for a while now. I have a really hard time focusing (on anything, really) and that's especially true for me when I'm praying. My mind just kind of drifts off. One thing that has helped me is to find a quiet lonely place and sit or kneel down, then pray out loud. It feels more like talking to someone that is physically there and it's much easier to focus that way.

[@johng482]

Thank you for this. I too have always struggled with prayer. Some of my trouble might be related to patience, but I think it’s really more about I feel like I’m repeating the same prayer over and over. As a result, my mind starts wandering or I struggle to stay awake. I’m also worried that this repetition will move into babbling as I try to change it up -I don’t want to be like the hypocrites who think their prayers will be heard because they use a bunch of words. I’ve been following all of those suggestions Allen made and frankly I’m still struggling. I love studying the Bible but often times if I skip prayer, I feel guilty and skip my Bible time s as well which becomes a violently downward spiral. Any other suggestions anyone has would be most appreciated.

[@larryventresco7797]

What a great video! This is so helpful and encouraging, it’s opened up a new way of looking at prayer. To me prayer is hard work it’s something that is vital in one’s relationship with the Lord. I pray that this video is a blessing to all!

[@rachels.9602]

Brother Allen, you have no idea (or maybe you do!) how helpful your transparency and advice on this is! Thank you for being willing to share.

[@devinworlds]

First Fruits! 🍉 🍎 🍇

[@wombmate1669]

Lord, please bless Pastor Allen and renew his strength and faith. Amen 🙏🏾

[@difidon]

Yeah, this I has been up and down for me. I do notice that most times in either in sin, my natural instinct is to "hide" from God. I've noticed that I often find it easier to get up early and go to the gym rather than pray. Thank you for making this video. I bid you all for prayers . God Bless!!

[@KevinHalloran]

Some great thoughts! I especially like being reminded of the purpose of prayer. Crucial! We constantly need encouragement in prayer. That's why my channel and writing ministry is dedicated to give people biblical encouragement and practical handles for growing in prayer.

[@dorisharris1666]

I struggle with quieting my mind and meditating on God and the Holy Spirit 😢 and truly want to be sincere in my heart ❤️ as l pray 🙏 😔

[@AJ-Starchild]

I am just now getting back to Christianity in my 40s after losing faith from my rebellious teen years. I struggle with prayers and always remember praying at the dinner table and before bed with the family. I always remember the ol' "now I lay me down to sleep I praise the lord my soul to keep" prayer as a kid and even now as an adult I tend to still use it and add to it while I learn how to pray more

[@beverlybethune4930]

Thank you so much for sharing this Post on "Struggling With Prayer" Pastor Allen. I truly needed to hear this. Here lately, for the last few months, mabe more, I have been struggling with prayer because my mind has been focus on other things. To be honest, things that wasn't important, and this truly troubled me. Your Post gave me some insight and great advice. Thank you again Pastor Allen ❤

[@josettsteele5018]

I am struggling with praying right now, and I have a friend who we just struggle along. So true Allen, thanks for this, when I look at the way I looked at prayer when I was a new Christian I realized I was ignorant. I got up this morning thinking of the very things you are saying, praise God for expanding on them, I want to be able to discerning and to develop a pattern for prayer. I love your hairstyle 😃. Going to listen to this one more time and forward to my friends.🙏

[@margaretgentile6556]

Thanks for clear list. One in my Bible and one in current Prayer Journal. Great teaching, Allen Parr.

[@titusthawng9393]

Thanks Allen for sharing this, it really impact my life!

[@majorcoolness]

I like the new haircut! Looking Good!

[@TyroneFuller-my6xd]

Thank you for being honest. It means so much coming from a strong man of God.

[@anadomangue2732]

I keep a prayer list by my bed and try my best to pray for whoever is on that list before I get out of bed. If I don’t have time before I get out of bed, I try to do it as I’m getting ready for the day. Sometimes the prayers are short, but I believe God knows my heart.

[@elizabethletshwiti1503]

Thank you very much. I thought I was the only one experiencing this. God help us all. Amen.

[@pouncy94]

I can relate 100% I lack so much patience, sometimes wonder if it will happen and if I’ll even want it when it finally does and that why do I even try part really gets to me sometimes. Thank you for your transparency and advice 💯💯💯

[@ebonymilele9218]

Many of your points were so relatable for me and very helpful. Thank you!

[@SandraLovell-vj9ju]

Exactly! I should pray right away for a person I say I will pray for. Even with them.

[@norannmcdaniel2655]

I was just reading 1 Peter and in chapter 4:7 my understanding was open that prayer is crucial for followers of Christ. Then I remembered seeing the title of your video. Brother Parr, this is so helpful. Thank you for sharing your insights and your experience. It is always helpful to see men of God (and women) show their vulnerability, and how they are overcoming obstacles with the help of the Holy Spirit of course. I am going to create a sheet of your suggestions and share them with my bible study group. I think this will benefit all of us as we strengthen our relationship with God and deepen our time in prayer with Him. I loved how you mentioned we often say "I'll pray for you" in social media posts and others. Years ago, it hit me (or could it have been the Holy Spirit) that this shouldn't just be something we say. So at that time, I stopped saying I would pray and immediately wrote out my prayer as I prayed it. If I don't have time - then I make it, right then and there. And sometimes I also write down their name and pray again later. That part of your video made me smile because I realized how often I failed to fulfill my word that I would pray! Not anymore.

[@Allen-a-tor]

“Our ability to impact our world with the gospel is in direct proportion to our prayer life.” -Skip Heitzig-

[@dr.deverylejones1306]

Allen been watching you for several yrs growing as bible teacher & I been teaching God & His Word with Gifts with books out over 40yrs maybe I can help with this. The main reason most struggle with praying is LACK of Faith in GOD. For example 1st when we pray to GOD we pray & ask that one time for to pray over & over harder you have no Faith GOD could hear you the 1st time. Without Faith you never believe you have received them as real things you have now. For when NOT seen you do not use FAITH as your Evidence you have them things is NOW & Today. This is the level of Faith we need in GOD (Hebrew 1:11) for know "IT IS impossible TO PLEASE GOD WITHOUT FAITH" & FAITH IS ALWAYS NOW. GOOD WORK Allen keep teaching.

[@Alf_The_Gr8]

God spoke to me thru this video. Thank you so much for your humility and honesty and praise God for this!! You’ve helped me begin to walk in courage and faith again. Praise God

[@nd4life]

Thank you Pastor this message really hit home for me, especially being a hypocrite and praying right after I know I just sin. Thank you x3 you just don’t understand how much you mean to me and my walk with Jesus.

[@ftmb1022]

Oh my gosh, I so needed this and appreciate this video. I grew up in the church but the cultural teachings definitely corrupted the complete teachings of the Bible. So for a long while I struggled with these very same things and still do. So I am going to take the suggestions you gave, I really want to get stronger and better in this area. Thank you.

[@jt2553]

It’s good to know that you struggle too, you’re human. I thought God doesn’t need my prayers, He has His plans anyway. Reading through the Bible last year & again this year, I see that because of Moses’ prayers, God changed His plans several times. I struggle because I seem to get more “no” than “yes,” so it’s discouraging. I have to remind me to pray continuously. It’s hard.

[@shellisbell]

I love the A.C.T.S.I. Method! I think another perfect model is of course THE LORD’S PRAYER. I often use it as an outline to help structure and guide my focus in prayer. It provides me with a clear idea of what my priorities should focus on. Jesus encouraged us to pray this prayer using words like “our” and “us”. He wants us to pray as one body for these things often, as it might be the most important prayer in Heaven and on Earth. Thank you and God Bless!

[@deborahfoster4825]

Very well explained thank you brother Allen thank you for sharing blessings to you and your family and ministry this has helped me

[@tinsantamaria1615]

Thank you for sharing your confession and encouraging ways to pray effectively❣️

[@PhilDykshoorn]

lt is incredible that Brother Parr has this topic, which was the exact topic l was mulling over last night. l just could not sleep last night. Thank you for your reflective and helpful video.

[@JCox964]

Brother, you are speaking directly to me. This has been my direct battle. Duhh challenge. Thank you for sharing this video….🙌🏽

[@FBCTrona]

Maybe I can help. I have been a Pastor for over 30 years. I have come to the conclusion that I believe most if not all Christian’s struggle with prayer. Please let me share some way I have had victory in my life. 1. Long prayer can be a concentration killer. There is nothing in the Bible that says you have to pray long, but two things are true. First there is much to pray about so that will require time. Third an availing prayer requires that you concentrate on being righteous and fervent. 2. Break up your prayer topics into schedule. Here is how mine works. In the morning 6:30 I concentrate on praise. I often first by reading a psalm and talk to the Lord as I do agreeing and commenting my thoughts to God as I do. I also sing to the lord, I pull out my Hymnbook and sing unto Him. Thirdly I go into a time of thanksgiving, often for resent things, as well as anything that comes to my mind: answered prayers, family, and do not forget the trials (Rom. 8:28). Soon after roughly at 9:00am I spend time praying for needy prayer requests, emergency requests, time sensitive requests. I will pray for the requests on our churches prayer list. Then again later roughly after lunch I will pray for spiritual growth for myself, family, church. Then roughly at 3:00pm I get out a book called “piercing Heaven”. It is the written prayers of puritans, and I read it. As I do I will often speak with the Lord over things that I have read, it may be praise, or reminders of humility, often I will read things that I never thought about and seek God’s face on them. And then at 6:00pm before I finish for the day I will once again take a few minutes to praise and worship the Lord. Before bed I will pray with my wife. All in all I will spend between 10 and 20 minutes in prayer each time. 3. Get help. I know I already mentioned this, but before you pray or even as you pray have some helpful material in hand. I read the psalms, I also made a book of all the prayers in the Bible, excluding Psalms and I will read a prayer before I start, and it helps my spirit to prepare and guides my thoughts. There are several puritan prayer books as well that I have found to be a great help. 4. Don’t always kneel and bow your head or close your eyes. Each time I pray I will go outside and walk around and will talk with God out loud. I talk to God with hand gestures like I was talking to others. I live near Death Valley, and sometimes it is simply too hot so I walk around the buildings. It keeps my mind on what I am praying for. 5. Thursday is thanksgiving, barring urgent requests the entire day is dedicated only to giving God praise and thanks. 6. Do not forget small talk. All through the day I will remember that God is at hand. I try to remember if I was around someone all day and they hardly said a word to me I would feel odd and out of place. I try to often speak with God as I would another person in the room, but of course with much more reverence. Any good or bad thing notable in a day will drum up a quick thank you Lord, or what should I do Father or please help. 7. Like Allen I do put my phone on silence, but I keep it in hand and every time I pray for someone I send them a quick text that I just prayed for the. Edification. Hope this helps.

[@phatnerd96]

It’s crazy how timely this was for me too! I have no problem with being thankful in prayer; it’s the intercession part that trips me up. I’m no calvinist, but I do believe that God is sovereign and that He has a plan for all of our lives. When I pray for someone who is deathly ill, I find myself cynically praying, “If it’s Your Will, heal this person”. It feels like I’m faithless and am just saying “Do whatever it is that You were going to do whether I prayed or not”. Can I really tell someone that I believe prayer works when I don’t act like my prayer can make a difference?

[@mkjones7603]

I struggle with prayer a lot. I find it hard to pray in my head as my mind wonders and I find it hard to pray out loud as I struggle to say what I’m thinking! 🫣 it comes out as mumbo jumbo! I try to keep them short and to the point (literally a few minutes) as this is what I can manage with relative ease, but then I feel bad cause I’m not praying long enough! 🙈🙈

[@goldengold5676]

Try looking for a safe prayer group to join for the exposure to prayer 🙏

[@mkjones7603]

@@goldengold5676 I work for a Christian trust and we have prayer meetings twice a month, I also partake in bible base courses (provided by work) and we pray each week with that too! Now give me a pen and paper and I can write a powerful prayer, but doing it in my head and and speaking out loud I just seem to struggle.

[@patrickkelly345]

Brother Allen, I also struggle with prayer due to lack of patience. Listening to this video is much needed.

[@jennygrim2057]

Thank you for your transparency. What a blessing this was to me. Becoming as little children truely is the kingdom of God! ❤ I find "grace for purpose" prayers on youtube very helpful and encouraging too Relationship with the Lord is the priority not just asking things So true. I want to make God happy!

[@temiakins7890]

Thank you for the advice. I pray for God’s increased anointing upon your life.

[@parisb7069]

I love your honesty. It's actually encouraging that I'm not the only one struggling with certain things. I also struggle with prayer.

[@Sunnyday45]

Try using the our father prayer as a template and keep asking for his holy spirit to help you in prayer before you always start, ask for forgiveness we are all in sinners due to our flesh and fallen world we live in. Then thank him ,so many things to thank him for the very breath we take and always thank him for going to the cross in our place. Pray for someone so many of people need praying for and lastly ask him for what you need to help you in anything in his will ❤

[@staticobs2370]

I havent gone through much as im just 23 or so i think but many things get to me but the more i go the more i see him acting and showing me hes with me ive been broke and stressed with no hope in sight and out of the blue after praying theres a new opportunity in sight My newborns been sick with scary things in the horizon but prayer and faith has not let me down Ive learned to just trust in Gods plan and rely he knows best and will always be there to comfort us and grow us

[@jonesmusya4735]

Thank you Brother Allen for this. I have been struggling in this area for a while.

[@lydiasoto536]

Thank you brother Allen I need that one # 1 in my list learning how to pray, that's a big help! Thanks

[@caligirl10]

Thank you for this video. It is right on time for me. I’m struggling and for all of these reasons. I will try these tips.

[@DR-vo1je]

Thank you Allen for this video and for being so transparent. I have been experiencing a real struggle to pray in this season of my life. I really appreciate these tips.

[@jenniferrebecca3036]

I know this video is about 4 months old, but I just watched it right now. I really needed this. Thank you.

[@cecillesanjoauin5155]

Thank you so much dear brother in Christ. This that you shared has really encouraged me to take prayer more seriously with the guidelines and tips you have provided. God bless your ministry! May He also continue to bless you and your family on a personal level.

[@olgajanzen9153]

You ARE the living prayer because in essence you are one with God...❤

[@mac9869]

Thank u for this! It’s a constant struggle of mine, one which is personally embarrassing.

[@janedoe4]

Thank you for this video and your ministry 🙏 I appreciated all the tips. One of my pastors recommended something that has helped me tremendously with being more consistent with intercession. He suggested keeping a small pocket notebook to jot down prayer requests that come up when talking with others. Pull it out during prayer times and pray. Then as God answers prayers write PTL next to the requests. I started carrying a small notebook in my purse earlier this year and it has been so encouraging to see the PTLs as I flip through to other pages. It definitely helps with thanksgiving and consistency.

[@traciehunter2200]

Oh my word brother Allen!! Yes, yes, yes, I needed this video. I knew I wasn't the only one who felt like this but I thought I was. Very honest of you to share this with us and very good observations as to why it is that we find it hard to pray. I am so trying to do better because I want that deep connection with my FATHER something I believe I have yet to experience. I do believe that he hears me but I'm never convinced in my Spirit that HE hears me. Nonetheless, great video once again!

[@rebeccaellis5892]

Thank you - I struggle too. I pray but it doesn't feel enough. I talk to the Lord all day but it is setting that time, making a time where I focus specifically on God.

[@UrMaria1992]

More of this Pastor Allen, thank you for sharing your struggles with us.

[@jodabassman32]

No joke bro. This really helped me. God seems so big and I'm so small. Like who am I that you would hear me. 😢