Dopamine

Our brains release the “feel-good hormone,” dopamine, to create a reward circuit that incentivizes us to learn and accomplish things. This is by God’s design, as we are “fearfully and wonderfully made.” However, addictions to drugs, porn, and even scrolling through video shorts, release so much dopamine so quickly that people lose the motivation to go after healthy rewards. The dopamine baseline for “normal” goes down so they need more and more stimulation to even feel normal. Although marijuana isn’t a hard drug, one of the notorious side effects is that the user becomes demotivated. Many guys on Reddit report how insanely productive they became when they stopped using porn!

Addictions to screens, drugs, and porn isolate people. Porn addictions in particular remove the healthy, God-given motivation to seek human relationships. One of the important keys to breaking addictions is to find community, build relationships with other people, and find healthy rewards to pursue. The gospel is all about restoring relationships, with God and with others.

When they compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise

I sometimes hear preachers talk about how many hours a day they pray, and some in Brazil are quite legalistic, making statements such as “If you’re a pastor and you don’t pray for at least two hours a day, you’re backslidden.” One said he prayed at least four hours a day, then asked everyone in the congregation to raise their hand if they prayed for four hours a day, or two hours, or one hour. Nobody raised their hand. I didn’t either, although I pray for more than two hours on many days. The whole idea of asking people to raise their hands to show how many hours they pray bothered me. I don’t keep track of it or set a target for how many hours I’ll pray. Of course, it may be helpful for some people to set aside a certain amount of time every day for prayer. But why boast in that? Is the point of prayer really, “Getting in my hours?”

Matthew 6:5-6 (NIV) And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

2 Corinthians 10:12 (NIV) We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise.

One of the weeks at the men’s group, a leader said something like, “You need to pay the price if you want God to use you. Look at someone like Jonathan, going around and people being healed everywhere. Jonathan, how much time do you spend praying every day?

I responded, “I don’t really keep track of it, but I pray a lot. I don’t really think about it. I’ve even been in an Uber and I forgot where I was and started praying out loud and tongues, then realized the Uber driver must be a bit shocked.” The leader said, “See guys! He’s saying he never stops praying. That’s what you gotta do!”

I felt the need to add a clarification. The man made it sound like you have to belong to an elite class of people who pray so many hours a day in order to see God’s power or be used by God. That is not what I want to communicate!

Yes, when I’m walking in God’s glory, I can pray for hours. But that’s really not anything to boast about. I’m not even a very disciplined person. I became addicted to prayer because I keep seeing what God does and I don’t want to stop. I want to go out and pray for people in the same way as an unsaved person gets bored and wants to go to a bar and have a good time. I don’t pray to meet some religious demand. In fact, I became exhausted by human religious demands long ago. I pray for a reward. When I go out on a mission, leaving my family at home, I’m not going out for nothing. I want my reward.

Let me explain this in the least religious way possible. Seeing the Holy Spirit’s works and the results of my prayers gives me a dopamine rush that makes me want to pray all the more. I don’t pray for no reason. I don’t pray so I can say how many hours I prayed. I pray for a reward. I’m addicted. When an adrenaline junkie jumps off a cliff with a wingsuit, are you impressed with his great spirituality and discipline? The thrill I feel when a person is delivered from demons or healed of fibromyalgia is similar to the thrill that an adrenaline junkie feels when jumping off a cliff.

Of course, I’m not saying that should be the only reason you pray. There are times to pray even when we don’t feel like it. Jesus’ disciples were falling asleep when they should have been praying on the night he was arrested! But I don’t feel particularly, “spiritual” for praying as I see the Holy Spirit move in power!

Many people get bored with prayer because they’ve learned to pray religiously in unbelief. You can pray for hours and hours in unbelief and it’s a waste of time. Instead of being pushed to pray more and more in the same way they’ve always prayed, most Christians need to learn to pray effectively. If Christians learn to pray effectively and not merely religiously, they have a reward that can motivate even the undisciplined to pray for hours. After all, how much discipline does it take to watch TV for two hours? It’s easy because of the dopamine released in the brain! How difficult is it to have a meal three times a day? Likewise, if you pray for a reward, it seems funny to emphasize “discipline” so much. When you pray with power, prayer is thrilling!

Addicted to the ministry of prayer

1 Corinthians 15:15 (KJV)  (ye know the house of Stephanas, that it is the firstfruits of Achaia, and that they have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints,)

Colossians 4:12 (NIV) Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured.

Prayer is one form of ministry, and you can addict yourself to the ministry of prayer. I’ve often talked about the virtuous cycle of praise, thanksgiving, and miracles. We could also call it, “prayer with thanksgiving producing miracles.” The prayer of faith is answered with such an outpouring of heaven that it just motivates you to pray all the more!

Jumpstarted in Prayer by God’s Grace

2 Corinthians 3:5 (NIV) Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God.

There’s no requirement for how many hours a day you must pray for God to answer you and for His power to flow through you! It’s all by grace! My experience is that God’s work by grace motivates me to pray. Then even the praying is by God’s grace! Miracles have become my normal in Christ. Powerful prayer opens our souls for the Holy Spirit to flow through and forms our hearts in undivided, unwavering agreement with God’s purposes. A powerful expectation and confidence have been formed in my heart through prayer and seeing the Holy Spirit move!

I have often grabbed young Christians or others around me, taught them to pray with power, and miracles happened through them! I often do this with those in drug and alcohol recovery. They didn’t have to pray for three hours for a miracle to happen. In fact, some of them are even backslidden. They get jumpstarted by God’s grace in my life.

Many people have seen a miracle for the first time after I encouraged them to pray. Many of them experience that miracle but then return to their previous level of expectation. They saw God move when they were with me, but it’s not a reality they carry everywhere they go. But some respond in faith to God’s grace and allow that first miracle to fuel prayer and further action in faith. They take hold of that heavenly reality for themselves. They didn’t pray for hours to get started, but prayer established that reality in their lives so they now carry it.

Discipline in prayer is good, but not just for the sake of saying how many hours you prayed. The point of the discipline should be to get you into a cycle of prayer, faith, and miracles, in which prayer becomes an addiction, not merely a discipline. Receive God’s grace to pray!

Addict yourself to the ministry of prayer. It may take some discipline to get started, but when you’re on a roll you may just not want to stop! The prayer of faith is powerful and effective, and it accomplishes what many hours of great human effort cannot!