Daily devotion: PHD in ….
Don’t Earn a PhD in Hindsight
Have you ever heard the phrase, “After the fact”? It belongs to the same family as another word that often haunts us when we’ve made poor decisions — hindsight.
A former AFL coach of the Fremantle Football Club used a similar expression often in his press conferences, especially after a tough loss. He would remark, “Everyone has a PhD in hindsight.”
I believe many believers, when they finally arrive in glory, will realise there was an action they sadly neglected to their great detriment during their time on earth — the action of prayer. Yet the Bible clearly teaches that prayer is one of the most crucial weapons God has given every believer.
The life of Jesus, as recorded in each of the Gospels, is a magnificent portrayal of 33 years of constant prayer between Jesus and His Father in Heaven.
Prayer was the only activity the disciples ever specifically asked Jesus to teach them:
“Lord, teach us to pray…” (Luke 11:1).
Yet in the Western Church of 2025, we find we have still not learned this lesson. In the majority of churches — where being a Christian is not a crime or a threat to one’s life — the most neglected meeting of all remains the prayer meeting.
Even worse, attendance at prayer meetings often fluctuates based solely on urgent needs. When a crisis arises, numbers swell; but once the need passes, so too does the urgency to pray.
We struggle in our daily walks, we face fierce opposition, and we endure unnecessary battles — often simply because we have neglected prayer.
What is your relationship with prayer?
Your prayer life reveals your relationship with God. It also gauges how much faith you truly place in the One who died on Calvary’s cruel Cross for you, and who rose again on the blessed third day.
May you not earn a PhD in hindsight.
Luke 11:1
“And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.”