The Prayer Reflex: How to Bring God Into the Moments When You Need Him Most

Prayer is too important to be confined to your prayer time.

I love the prayer closet.

I believe in seasons of earnest, intense prayer. I believe in fasting. I believe in setting aside distractions, getting alone with God, seeking His face, and giving Him our undivided attention. I love praying at the replica Western Wailing Wall at the Morris Cerullo Legacy International Center.

The Bible tells us that Elijah “prayed earnestly.” Jesus Himself often withdrew from the crowds to pray. And when Nehemiah first heard the devastating news that the walls of Jerusalem were broken down, he sat down and wept. He mourned, fasted, and prayed before God.

Those extended times with God matter.

But there is another dimension of prayer that I believe can be incredibly liberating for many Christians.

Nehemiah had a prayer closet—but he didn’t leave prayer in the closet.

Prayer followed him into his work.

Prayer followed him into difficult conversations.

Prayer followed him into moments of pressure.

Prayer followed him when enemies attacked.

Prayer followed him when decisions had to be made immediately.

Prayer became his reflex.

THE PRAYER REFLEX

A reflex is something that happens almost instinctively.

You don’t have to schedule a reflex. You don’t have to stop everything and prepare for it. It has become such a part of you that when something happens, you respond.

That is what we see in the life of Nehemiah.

He certainly knew how to spend extended time with God. But because prayer had become part of the fabric of his life, when situations suddenly arose, his heart immediately turned toward heaven.

Perhaps the clearest example occurs when Nehemiah is standing before King Artaxerxes.

Nehemiah had been carrying a tremendous burden for Jerusalem. The king noticed the sadness on his face and asked what was troubling him. Nehemiah explained what had happened to Jerusalem.

Then came the moment.

The king asked him:

“Well, how can I help you?”

Nehemiah records what happened next:

“With a prayer to the God of heaven, I replied…”
— Nehemiah 2:4–5 NLT

Think about that.

The most powerful man in Nehemiah’s world was standing in front of him waiting for an answer.

Nehemiah couldn’t say, “Your Majesty, give me three days to fast and pray and I’ll get back to you.”

There was no time for a prayer meeting.

There was no opportunity to go somewhere private.

There may have been only seconds between the king’s question and Nehemiah’s response.

But somewhere in those seconds, Nehemiah prayed.

And God heard him.

That is the Prayer Reflex.

GOD HEARS THE PRAYER YOU PRAY IN THE MOMENT

Sometimes we can unintentionally mystify prayer.

We may begin to think that prayer is powerful only when the atmosphere is right, when we have enough time, when we are kneeling somewhere alone, or when we can spend an extended period seeking God.

Those things are wonderful.

But let’s not underestimate the prayer you and I can jpray in the moment.

God is just as present when you suddenly whisper, “Lord, help me,” as you walk into a meeting.

He hears you when you pray before answering a difficult question.

He hears you when fear suddenly hits you.

He hears you when the phone rings with unexpected news.

He hears you when you are sitting in a doctor’s office.

He hears you when you are making a decision.

He hears you when conflict suddenly erupts in your family.

He hears you when you simply pray:

“Lord, give me wisdom.”

“Lord, strengthen me.”

“Lord, help me answer.”

“Lord, show me what to do.”

Everything you face in life is not going to happen while you are in your prayer closet.

Your prayer closet prepares you to pray when there is no prayer closet available.

NEHEMIAH LIVED THIS WAY

Once you begin looking for it, you discover this pattern throughout the book of Nehemiah.

When enemies mocked the work, Nehemiah immediately turned toward God:

“Hear us, our God…”
— Nehemiah 4:4

When opposition intensified:

“But we prayed to our God and guarded the city day and night…”
— Nehemiah 4:9

Notice the balance.

They prayed—and they posted a guard.

Prayer didn’t replace action.

Prayer prepared them for action.

Later, when Nehemiah’s enemies tried to intimidate him, he prayed one of the shortest and most powerful prayers in the entire book:

“Now strengthen my hands.”
— Nehemiah 6:9

That’s it.

No introduction.

No long explanation.

No elaborate vocabulary.

“Now strengthen my hands.”

And heaven heard it.

Throughout his story, Nehemiah repeatedly interrupts his own narrative to talk to God:

“Remember me, my God…” — Nehemiah 5:19

“Remember, O my God…” — Nehemiah 6:14

“Remember me for this, my God…” — Nehemiah 13:14

“Remember this good deed also, O my God…” — Nehemiah 13:22

And amazingly, Nehemiah ends the entire book talking to God:

“Remember me with favor, my God.”
— Nehemiah 13:31

Nehemiah didn’t merely have a prayer life.

He lived a praying life.

PRAYER IN MOSCOW

Years ago, I experienced the practicality of this personally.

Dr. Morris Cerullo and our ministry had been invited to Moscow during an extraordinary period of change in the former Soviet Union. Perestroika had opened doors that only a short time earlier would have seemed impossible, and new religious freedoms were beginning to be tested.

We were scheduled to conduct a crusade in Moscow’s massive sports arena.

The response was overwhelming.

By approximately five o’clock in the afternoon, thousands of people were already outside trying to get in. We had to open the doors early because so many had arrived.

Eventually the arena filled.

But thousands more remained outside.

The situation began becoming tense. People desperately wanted to enter, and the police became concerned that some were pressing against the building and trying to break glass to get inside.

The authorities came to us.

They were considering shutting the event down.

Standing there were Russian pastors—remarkable men of God, some of whom had suffered imprisonment and persecution because of their faith.

And now we had to answer the Moscow police.

There wasn’t time to call a prayer meeting.

There wasn’t time to disappear somewhere for an hour.

I knew we were not going to voluntarily cancel that crusade. And I certainly knew Dr. Cerullo would not want to turn thousands of hungry people away without doing everything possible to minister to them.

So right there, in the moment, I prayed.

“Lord, how do I answer them? What do we do?”

And suddenly an idea came.

We had brought approximately 5,000 Bibles to Moscow to distribute.

I said,

“What if we take half of those Bibles outside and give them to the people who cannot get in? We’ll thank them for coming, tell them we are going to return to Moscow, and give them the Word of God before they leave.”

That’s exactly what we did.

The people calmed down.

The police were satisfied.

The meeting continued.

And we kept our word.

Only months later we returned to Moscow, this time to the Olympic Stadium, where approximately 15,000 people packed the arena night after night for three nights.

I have never forgotten that moment.

There was no prayer closet available.

But God was available.

That is the Prayer Reflex.

“PRAY WITH ALL KINDS OF PRAYERS”

Paul gives us a remarkable instruction in Ephesians 6:18:

“Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.”

I love that phrase:

All kinds of prayer.

There are prayers that last hours.

And prayers that last seconds.

There are prayers accompanied by fasting.

And prayers whispered while walking down a hallway.

There are prayers prayed on our knees.

And prayers prayed with our eyes open while somebody is waiting for our answer.

There are prayers we schedule.

And there are prayers that interrupt our schedule.

There is prayer in the secret place.

And there is prayer in the sudden place.

Never diminish one to elevate the other.

The point isn’t:

“You don’t need extended prayer.”

The point is:

Don’t limit prayer to extended prayer.

MAYBE THIS IS ONE WAY WE “PRAY WITHOUT CEASING”

Paul wrote three remarkable words:

“Pray without ceasing.”
— 1 Thessalonians 5:17

Obviously, Paul was not telling us that we must spend every waking hour physically kneeling in prayer.

We have families to care for.

Work to accomplish.

Decisions to make.

People to serve.

Responsibilities God Himself has given us.

So how do we pray without ceasing?

I believe Nehemiah shows us at least part of the answer.

We learn to live with our hearts continually turned toward God.

Prayer becomes conversation.

Prayer becomes communion.

Prayer becomes our instinctive Godward response to everyday life.

Before Nehemiah answered the king—

he prayed.

When Nehemiah was mocked—

he prayed.

When he was threatened—

he prayed.

When his strength was attacked—

he prayed.

While he was leading—

he prayed.

When he finished the work—

he prayed.

Prayer was woven into his life.

THE PRAYER CLOSET DEVELOPS THE PRAYER REFLEX

And perhaps this is the secret.

The instantaneous prayers of Nehemiah 2 were not disconnected from the extended prayers of Nehemiah 1.

The prayer closet develops the Prayer Reflex.

Because Nehemiah had learned to seek God when nobody was asking him a question, he knew how to reach toward God when the king suddenly demanded an answer.

The secret place teaches us to recognize His voice in the sudden place.

Extended communion with God creates an awareness of His presence that we carry into everyday life.

Ultimately, the goal is not merely to have a prayer time.

It is to become a praying person.

From the beginning, God created humanity for fellowship with Him. Prayer is more than a religious exercise. It is life lived in relationship with God.

So yes—set aside time to pray.

Seek Him earnestly.

Fast.

Get alone with God.

Pour out your heart before Him.

But when you walk out of that place—

take prayer with you.

Take it into your marriage.

Take it into your business.

Take it into the doctor’s office.

Take it into the boardroom.

Take it into your decisions.

Take it into your disappointments.

Take it into unexpected conversations.

Take it into every situation where you suddenly realize:

“I need God right now.”

Because you don’t have to wait until your next prayer time to talk to Him.

Prayer is too important to be confined to your prayer time.

Nehemiah had a prayer closet.

But he didn’t leave prayer in the closet.

May we learn to live the same way.

Lord, help us to live with the Nehemiah Prayer Reflex.

Closing Prayer

Father, thank You that You are not only with us in the prayer closet, but in every moment of our lives.

Teach us to live with our hearts continually turned toward You. Help us to recognize that no situation is too sudden, too small, too complicated, or too ordinary to bring before You.

Give us the Nehemiah Prayer Reflex.

When we are under pressure, remind us to pray. When we need wisdom, remind us to pray. When we are facing opposition, remind us to pray. When we don’t know what to say or what to do, help our hearts to instinctively turn toward You.

And Lord, deepen our private times with You so that we carry Your presence with us into every part of our day.

May prayer become more than something we do. May we become people who live in continual fellowship with You.

In Jesus’ name, amen.

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