Dharius Daniels - Why It's So Hard to Pray

I want to do this Wednesday night teaching called Fire Starters. I want to spend some time doing that on Sunday mornings. I’m teaching something called House Fires, and if you haven’t joined us, please do at lifechange.org on Sunday mornings and Sunday afternoons. You can watch us stream it live on YouTube or on my Facebook page, where the services will be streamed. That’s House Fire, but this time of teaching is centered around the subject of Fire Starters, and I’m so excited about our time together tonight. We’re going to help you take your life to the next level spiritually.

Now, something I need you to do: if you anticipate this is going to add value to your life, I want to make sure that you like this. That’s important. Why? Because we want to ensure this gets up in the algorithm so that we can help as many people as possible. You know, there’s a scripture that says the enemy is the prince of the power of the air, and we can take that metaphorically to mean airwaves. There’s so much content that people are inundated with in the airwaves that doesn’t add value. Not everything that entertains adds value, and we believe this series of teachings is going to add value. Therefore, we want to make sure we are also competing for territory in the airwaves, and your liking and sharing helps us do just that. I want to thank so many of you in advance for sharing and spreading the word about this. We’re really, really excited about our time together.

I want to leap right in. You know, I frequently rehearse this statement for people that are part of our spiritual family or those who are part of what I would call our extended spiritual family: when we get better spiritually, everything gets better. When we get better spiritually, everything gets better. Now, I’m not saying when we get better spiritually, everything becomes perfect; that’s not what I mean. But I am saying that when we improve spiritually, everything gets better.

Let me tell you a story that hopefully will assist me in clarifying the statement I just articulated. Here it is: several years ago, I was having trouble with my back, and I went to a number of different people. I ended up at an exercise physiologist, and after assessments by doctors and the physiologist, she provided me with some direction and instruction on physical therapy. There were some exercises I had to do at home. When I looked at the sheet of home exercises assigned to me, I noticed that most of the exercises were centered around my core and my abdominal area. Being super inquisitive, I asked her a bunch of questions. I said to her, «Excuse me, I noticed a lot of exercises seem to be focused on my abs. Could you explain how they relate to my back?» She said something profound that many of you have heard me say, but it bears repeating: «Your back is hurting because your core is weak.» Your back is hurting because your core is weak.

Just as it was for my body, so it is for us in life. Watch this: the area that is hurting is not always the area that is broken. Sometimes, we’re hurting in one area because we are weak in another. Here’s the revelation I received: just as the core is vital for the body, spirituality is essential for our lives; it is our core. When we are weak spiritually, we can end up hurting relationally. When we’re weak spiritually, we may hurt emotionally. When we’re weak spiritually, we can end up struggling professionally, because weakness in one area can manifest pain in another. When you become your best self, when you improve personally, it enhances your marriage, and you begin to experience your best marriage. When you improve yourself and become your best self, it positively affects you emotionally, allowing you to experience the quality of emotional life that scripture reveals is meant for us. Come on! When we get better spiritually, our discernment gets better, and we become better decision-makers.

Decisions are absolutely important and consequential. I created an entire course on decision-making in a virtual learning platform called Everyday Seminary. I did a whole course with six lessons on decision-making because God allows you to participate in His will for your life through the decisions you make. Your decisions reflect your faith; they demonstrate to God that you believe so strongly in what He says about you that you will make choices consistent with that belief. All of this improves when we get better spiritually. Think about it: everything gets better when we improve spiritually.

So, watch this; I’m going to say this without hesitation because right here on these Wednesday nights, this is straight truth, no chaser. I’m talking to the hungry. If you’re watching this, you’re hungry, and I want to emphasize that the most important part of your life is your spiritual life; it affects everything. However, here’s the truth: what is most important is often most neglected. Come on, let’s be honest; this is no cap if you’re watching.