Pastor's Posts
What a hard year has taught me about prayer.

Daniel Morris • Lead Pastor
October 7, 2026

6 Minute Read

We don’t get a lot of downtime from the hard reminders of grief in our family. February and March can be brutal. June is hard. July is hard. Now August is hard. September has been hard for 20 years now. We are walking into October, which is hard. November usually gives us a little breathing room. Then December, with the holidays, is hard too. You guessed it.

This September marked 20 years since my brother Matt left us all way too soon. I’ve missed him extra this year and thought about him even more than I normally do. He was so fun. He would have been the world’s best uncle. Gone now longer than he lived. It’s so strange to come to terms with the fact that I’ve lived longer without him than I did with him. On the anniversary of his death this year, we had our annual Weekend Warrior men’s event, where our church and several others come together and encourage each other to be warriors for Christ in our homes, churches, and communities.

This year, the topic I was given to speak on at Weekend Warrior was “Why a Man Prays.” I assure you, I needed to wrestle with that topic more than anyone needed to hear what I had to say about it. Why do we pray? What happens when we pray? Why does it matter if we pray? This is a subject I have been contemplating deeply for a long time. We have made a concerted effort in our church to be a “House of Prayer” for a long time now, and it finally feels like that is becoming a regular part of our life together. And man, does that excite me for what’s ahead!

Why do we pray? There are many reasons. Some valid. Some misguided at best. The main point of prayer is to participate in our relationship with God Almighty through His Son, Jesus. Prayer is not a religious checklist. Prayer is not a wish list of all the things you think will make your life better. Prayer is not informing God of our needs as though He doesn’t already know, or assuming that if He knew, He would already be doing something! Prayer is participating in a relationship with the divine Creator and Sustainer of it all.

Something happens when we pray like that and for that reason. We receive divine instruction. We receive divine power. We receive divine wisdom. We experience divine activity in our lives and are able to love those around us with God-given power.

We focus on five points of prayer at our church. Not as a magic formula and not as a way to get what we want from God. He can’t be manipulated, so don’t waste your time trying that. These five points give us a framework for communicating well with God. There’s a saying I love: “The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.”

We often struggle to communicate effectively in our human relationships. I believe we can bring those same habits into our relationship with the LORD. We think we have communicated with Him well. But have we really, or did we just do a religious activity that we hope will gain us favor with Him in some way? The five points we focus on are praise, pardon, ponder, partner, and plead.

I’ll expand on those in posts moving forward. This past Sunday night at our “Draw Near” service, we prayed through this framework. Ask anyone who was there. It was a powerful night. Praise God, from whom all blessings flow! As Psalm 51:17 says, “The sacrifice pleasing to God is a broken spirit. God, You will not despise a broken and humbled heart.” The highest form of worship is trust. Our prayers should reflect that as well. Coming humbly to the LORD, confessing our sins and seeking His mercy and grace, is an act of trust. It opens the door to knowing Him more deeply. Seek Him!

That need to seek the LORD has been especially personal for me this year.

After September 19th this year, I took a breath. A breath to reflect and spend some time with God. That day marked the end of a particularly difficult stretch that had begun back in February. This year brought a lot of milestone numbers. My late wife Kayla would have turned 40 on this earth. My late son Landry would have turned 16. This year also marked five years since their passing. My brother Matt would have been 39, meaning he’s been gone longer than he lived. Kayla and I would have been married for 20 years. Matt has been gone for 20 years. It was a lot. It drove me to seek the LORD for understanding and eyes that see and ears that hear.

I saw my daughter finish her first year of college well. I saw my youngest daughter turn one. I saw my oldest son continue to grow into a young man who loves the LORD and wants to serve others. I saw my youngest son get baptized! Lauren and I celebrated two years of marriage. We’ve grown to love and understand each other more deeply, and the hard has helped that growth. I understand the ways of the LORD more today than I did before this year began. I’m thankful for the time I’ve spent with the LORD this year, for how much He has revealed Himself to me and how He has healed deep, deep wounds.

Pray for us as we head into the next couple of weeks, which will bring more reflection and grief for our family. We know the LORD will see us all through. We know He will continue to bring beauty from ashes. We know that as we trust Him, He will reveal His goodness to us even in the midst of unspeakable pain. I’m finally learning to pray. I’m looking forward to more. Prayer. What a privilege!


Stay connected by subscribing below so you never miss an update.

Subscribe to Pastoral Letters Updates

By subscribing, you agree to receive email communication from FBC Danville, AR. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Up Next
From this Collection: Pastoral Letters
Currently Reading
October 7, 2026 • 6 Minute Read
Pastor's Posts
We don’t get a lot of downtime from the hard reminders of grief in our family. February and March can be brutal. June is hard. July is hard. Now August is hard. September has been hard for 20 years now. We are walking into October, which is hard. November usually gives us a little breathing room. Then December, with the holidays, is hard too. You guessed it. This September marked 20 years since my brother Matt left us all way too soon. I’ve missed him extra this year and thought about him even more than I normally do. He was so fun. He would have been the world’s best uncle. Gone now longer than he lived. It’s so strange to come to terms with the fact that I’ve lived longer without him than I did with him. On the anniversary of his death this year, we had our annual Weekend Warrior men’s event, where our church and several others come together and encourage each other to be warriors for Christ in our homes, churches, and communities. This year, the topic I was given to speak on at Weekend Warrior was “Why a Man Prays.” I assure you, I needed to wrestle with that topic more than anyone needed to hear what I had to say about it. Why do we pray? What happens when we pray? Why does it matter if we pray? This is a subject I have been contemplating deeply for a long time. We have made a concerted effort in our church to be a “House of Prayer” for a long time now, and it finally feels like that is becoming a regular part of our life together. And man, does that excite me for what’s ahead! Why do we pray? There are many reasons. Some valid. Some misguided at best. The main point of prayer is to participate in our relationship with God Almighty through His Son, Jesus. Prayer is not a religious checklist. Prayer is not a wish list of all the things you think will make your life better. Prayer is not informing God of our needs as though He doesn’t already know, or assuming that if He knew, He would already be doing something! Prayer is participating in a relationship with the divine Creator and Sustainer of it all. Something happens when we pray like that and for that reason. We receive divine instruction. We receive divine power. We receive divine wisdom. We experience divine activity in our lives and are able to love those around us with God-given power. We focus on five points of prayer at our church. Not as a magic formula and not as a way to get what we want from God. He can’t be manipulated, so don’t waste your time trying that. These five points give us a framework for communicating well with God. There’s a saying I love: “The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” We often struggle to communicate effectively in our human relationships. I believe we can bring those same habits into our relationship with the LORD. We think we have communicated with Him well. But have we really, or did we just do a religious activity that we hope will gain us favor with Him in some way? The five points we focus on are praise, pardon, ponder, partner, and plead. I’ll expand on those in posts moving forward. This past Sunday night at our “Draw Near” service, we prayed through this framework. Ask anyone who was there. It was a powerful night. Praise God, from whom all blessings flow! As Psalm 51:17 says, “The sacrifice pleasing to God is a broken spirit. God, You will not despise a broken and humbled heart.” The highest form of worship is trust. Our prayers should reflect that as well. Coming humbly to the LORD, confessing our sins and seeking His mercy and grace, is an act of trust. It opens the door to knowing Him more deeply. Seek Him! That need to seek the LORD has been especially personal for me this year. After September 19th this year, I took a breath. A breath to reflect and spend some time with God. That day marked the end of a particularly difficult stretch that had begun back in February. This year brought a lot of milestone numbers. My late wife Kayla would have turned 40 on this earth. My late son Landry would have turned 16. This year also marked five years since their passing. My brother Matt would have been 39, meaning he’s been gone longer than he lived. Kayla and I would have been married for 20 years. Matt has been gone for 20 years. It was a lot. It drove me to seek the LORD for understanding and eyes that see and ears that hear. I saw my daughter finish her first year of college well. I saw my youngest daughter turn one. I saw my oldest son continue to grow into a young man who loves the LORD and wants to serve others. I saw my youngest son get baptized! Lauren and I celebrated two years of marriage. We’ve grown to love and understand each other more deeply, and the hard has helped that growth. I understand the ways of the LORD more today than I did before this year began. I’m thankful for the time I’ve spent with the LORD this year, for how much He has revealed Himself to me and how He has healed deep, deep wounds. Pray for us as we head into the next couple of weeks, which will bring more reflection and grief for our family. We know the LORD will see us all through. We know He will continue to bring beauty from ashes. We know that as we trust Him, He will reveal His goodness to us even in the midst of unspeakable pain. I’m finally learning to pray. I’m looking forward to more. Prayer. What a privilege!

Daniel Morris

Lead Pastor