by Jonathan Schaeffer

When I talk to people about spiritual rhythms and deeper-life habits, I often ask, “What do you wish you could do better? If you could take the next step in your journey, what would it be?”

The most common response I’ve heard is: “I wish I did better in prayer. I wish I talked to God more.”

Most of us know Scriptures—we know we are meant to pray continually and on all occasions (see 1 Thess. 5:17; Eph. 6:18). In Colossians 4:2, Paul says, “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.” Jesus taught His followers that they should “always pray and not give up” (Luke 18:1). We know these passages, and yet I think many of us, at one time or another, are discouraged with our lives of prayer. The struggle could be due to a multitude of reasons—distractions, a feeling of unworthiness, or even the sense that prayer isn’t productive, at least in the moment. Sometimes the issue is simply remembering that God’s presence is always with us and in us.

For me, I have time set aside in the morning to spend with Jesus before I do anything else. But once I start going throughout the day, I can sometimes look back and feel like I left Jesus behind. It can be easy to believe that God is with us, but functionally to go through the day without frequently interacting with Him.

What if we really believed that God is with us all the time? How would we live and pray differently? In Matthew’s Gospel, the presence of God is how the story begins and how it ends:

“‘The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’ (which means ‘God with us’)” (Matt. 1:23).

“And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matt. 28:20b).

God wants us to know and believe this deeply—and to live it out.

When Prayer Comes First

Let’s look at the example of a man in the Scripture who did live this out—Nehemiah.

Nehemiah was a great leader. In a time when Israel was coming back from Babylonian captivity, he led them through crisis. Yet the Book of Nehemiah doesn’t begin with his leadership exploits, but with prayer. It says: “I questioned them about the Jewish remnant that had survived the exile, and also about Jerusalem. They said to me, ‘Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.’ When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven” (Neh. 1:2b-4). Prayer was Nehemiah’s first response to crisis.

When Nehemiah shares his grief with King Artaxerxes, the king asks, “What is it you want?” (Neh. 2:4). Again, Nehemiah’s immediate response is not to answer, but to pray to the God of heaven. I think Nehemiah’s story is not so much about leadership as it is about prayer. He was an effective leader because he was a leader who prayed.

Throughout his story, Nehemiah faced constant conflict and opposition. After receiving repeated threats, Nehemiah writes, “They were all trying to frighten us, thinking, ‘Their hands will get too weak for the work, and it will not be completed.’ But I prayed, ‘Now strengthen my hands'” (Neh. 6:9). Even four-word prayers like Nehemiah’s count! I call these arrow prayers—quick shots that I can release up to the Lord.

Jesus, I need Your help.

Lord, I’m anxious—will You replace that with Your peace?

Father, would You guide my words?

God, help me listen.

Holy Spirit, help me love like you love.

These kinds of quick prayers are a simple way to connect with God throughout the day.

Nehemiah was an effective leader because he was a leader who prayed constantly—and because he had the vision of Moses: “He persevered because he saw him who is invisible” (Heb. 11:27b). As Paul says in 2 Corinthians, “We fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Cor. 4:18). How often do we mix this up, only focusing on what is seen? But if we has the perspective of Moses and Nehemiah, how would we pray differently?

Instead, we sometimes have the perspective of Jacob, who, while on the run from his brother, thinking he was all alone, had a dream. You probably remember the story—a stairway reaching up to heaven with angels ascending and descending on it. When Jacob woke up, he made a statement: “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it” (Gen. 28:16). Like Jacob, we can be surrounded by God’s presence—in our cars, at our jobs, in our kitchens, even amid crisis—and not notice.

Nehemiah seemed to always see Him who is invisible. But Jacob missed it for a time.

This is a spiritual battle. The enemy will do everything he can to keep us out of fellowship with Jesus. He works against God’s people, trying to blind us. But we can invite Jesus to take the scales off our eyes. Lord, 25, 50, 100 times a day, would You help us see You?

Learning to See the Invisible

A few years ago, I jotted some words down on a card: “Lord Jesus, You are with me right now.” Praying this throughout the day is one of the practices of my soul—one of my favorite arrow prayers. The Lord is in this place. Lord Jesus, You are with me right now. It’s not only about saying these words but also about having faith—confidence in hope and assurance about what is unseen (see Heb. 11:1)—that they are true. No matter the distractions or doubts you face, regardless of feeling, Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He is with us.

This is my prayer for you—that you would be able to walk in the way of Nehemiah and Moses, and in the way of other saints before you, praying continually, and on all occasions being devoted to prayer. I pray that you would believe that God is with you, and that soon you would be able to say, “This is one of my strengths—I see God’s presence with me.”

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