The night came when Jesus was about to be betrayed and arrested (Matthew 26:36-40). He took His disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray, but He kept finding them sleeping instead of praying. Jesus finally asked, “Could you not tarry with me one hour?”
That is such a sad question. Unfortunately, it is one the Lord could ask many believers every day. If spending at least an hour a day with the Lord is not part of your daily routine, I encourage you to take an hour today and just say, “Lord, today I’m going to read the Word and pray, and wait (tarry) to hear from You.”
The only way to learn how to pray is to pray. If you don’t ever start to pray you’ll never learn. Prayer time is not just about you filling the air with words and requests. Prayer is also about waiting—tarrying. It is about quietness before the Lord. Don’t force it if you don’t really know what to pray. Just be quiet and let the Holy Spirit begin to bring things up in your mind to pray about.
Sometimes you might have a song of worship. Sing it to the Lord and reflect on His goodness. That will often lead to prayer rising up out of your spirit.
When you seek the Lord through fasting and prayer, you empty yourself so He can bring out those things that He put in you for His purposes. Jesus knew how important it was to “come away” and be with God in prayer.
When you fast, it is a season to set yourself apart from the routine of life, business, mindless entertainment and sink deeply into God’s Word. When
you are empty, quiet and broken before Him, you can hear His voice more clearly. Don’t quit now. Keep on fasting and praying.