My favorite workout is a weight-training system called Body Pump. It consists of a high number of repetitions of each weight exercise to challenge all the major muscle groups. Some tracks require more than 40 repetitions of squats, presses, lifts and curls.
Well, the first few times I lift the weight on a track, I feel great. Everything is easy. By the 16th rep, my muscles start to feel fatigued. I get this slow burn creeping through my muscles.
The natural response to pain or difficulty on the path of life is: “If it hurts, stop!” It’s natural, but it is the wrong response. When working out, it is at this point of fatigue that the muscles are getting the benefit of increasing their capacity to lift. It is at the point of the burn that the muscles are getting stronger and I become more fit.

So what does all of this have to do with prayer?
Every form of private prayer has a burn or fatigue point. It’s easy to pray in a group when you are surrounded by other prayer warriors and you get points and admiration for being there. Prayer gets harder when it’s just you and God, when you shut the door and pray in secret believing that your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

The burn point in fasting is when you wonder why you need to do this and you’re ready to raid the refrigerator. The burn point in worship is when you feel like your words of worship are as dry as cracker juice and you’re not getting “in the spirit”. The burn point in praying in tongues is when your throat is dry, you’re not getting any revelations and your mind is screaming to go do anything, anything but pray.

Don’t be fazed when you hit the burn point in prayer. This is the point at which you have reached the end of your current capacity to pray. If you stay in prayer through those hard moments, you are increasing your capacity to fellowship with God and receive from Him. You need to work those spiritual muscles until spending 3, 4, 5, 12, and 24 hours in God’s presence comes naturally to you.

There are many men who have walked in the anointing and miracles of God. We admire them for their ability to carry the presence of God and deliver Him to the people. The only difference between them and you is the capacity of their spiritual muscles. Those muscles weren’t built in a day. If your burn point of prayer is 30 minutes today, push to 40 minutes tomorrow. If you’re at an hour, push to two hours. Keep pushing, keep working, and keep growing.

Build your endurance in the spirit. If you keep praying and make it past the hard places, God will be able to give you the divine wisdom and understanding that will produce the power of God that you are looking for. God wants to give you all that you desire, more than even you want it, but He can’t do so until He builds in you the capacity to carry His anointing.

Grace and Peace to you,

Sade