“Pastor, I’m a Christian, but why is there so many challenges in my life, and why does it take so long for me to overcome them?” 

I’m not sure what exactly may be causing that situation, but let me share something with you that will change your life for ever.

Matthew 21:

12 And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves.

13 And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.

14 And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them.

So in the scripture above we see Jesus reacting to a shocking situation, He went to the temple only to discover that it had been turned into a market place where all kinds of trades took place. He became enraged and sent everyone who traded in the temple out. While He did that, His very words were, “My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves”.

This is already stirring an anointing within my heart. We know from scriptures that we are the temple or house of God, and if we are the house of God, then we should be of prayer. “My house shall be a house of prayer!”. Jesus knows that it is impossible to host God without engaging prayer as a lifestyle. Unfortunately, many Christians have turned their lives into a den of thieves, they keep taking in things that steal their prayer time.

Anything you do that affects your prayer life is a thief. And if it’s a thief, cast it out of your life. If watching movies affects your prayer life, then it’s a thief. Your life should not be a market place, it should be a life of prayer. If eating affects your prayer life, then don’t eat till you’ve prayed. If anger affects your prayer life, then work on your anger. The only thing that qualifies to host Jesus successfully is a consistent prayer life.

Now you’d understand what Jesus meant in Luke 18:1 when He said, “men ought always to pray and not to faint”. I looked up the meaning of “faint” in the dictionary and what I found would amaze you:

Lacking strength, weak, spiritless, inclined to lose consciousness, lacking courage or energy, cowardly, dejected, barely perceptible, not bright, or loud, or sharp.

Just look at that! That’s exactly what you become when you don’t maintain a consistent prayer life. By this alone you should know why it takes you so long to overcome challenges, you lack the courage to face those challenges, you can barely perceive what the Spirit of God is saying, and that’s because you’re probably spiritless. Courage isn’t something you just declare that you have, it’s something you develop on the altar of prayer. That’s why it’s important that we always pray. The more you pray, the more courageous you become. And the more courageous you become, the more possibilities you’d command.

As soon as Jesus restored the glory of the temple in Matthew 21, we were told in verse 14 that the blind and the lame came into the temple and He healed them. This means that it shouldn’t be difficult to overcome challenges as long as your life gives prayer priority. So your worry right now shouldn’t be about how the challenges are many, it should be about how to restore your prayer life.

Just incase you’ve gone far astray and you’re wondering how long it will take to get back in your spiritual form if you resume praying, I have good news for you, it doesn’t take long. Let me show you a scripture:

John 2:

18 Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things?

19 Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.

20 Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days?

So they asked Jesus why He sent out the traders from the temple, they really wanted to know what He was trying to prove. And to their amazement, He told them to destroy the temple and He’d rebuild it in 3 days. That’s all you need to start off your prayer life again, a 3-day prayer for your personal spiritual revival. Then once you’re revived, you can now create a daily routine for your prayers.

Guard your life with prayers, because it is out of it that the issues of life are resolved.

I hope this has brought enlightenment to someone.

Remain ever blessed, in Jesus precious name!

#EmekaAnslem