“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:4,5).

It’s not anything we are proud of, but for some of us who haven’t arrived, there are times that prayer feels like a chore for us.

We’re ashamed because it is a most wonderful privilege to talk with God, the Creator and Sustainer of the world; to Him who loved us so as to forgive us of our sins, clothe us in the righteousness of Christ, own us as sons and daughters, and inseparably unite us to Christ and hold on to us forever.

We remember that Christ could spend all night in prayer, or we read about the Reformer, Martin Luther, praying 3 hours a day and we feel more guilty.

Let’s think through this a little.

The prayer Jesus used to teach His disciples was powerful, but short.

John 17 is a recorded prayer of Christ that isn’t very long.

Many of the psalms are prayers that aren’t long.

In fact, the length of the prayer is not what pleases God, but the sincerity and humility of the one praying (Matthew 6:7; Psalm 57:17).

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