I struggle with prayer. I can admit that. And yet prayer is such an important part of the Christian walk. As I have said before, reading the Bible is God talking to you while prayer is you talking to God. I find myself wondering why is it so hard for me to pray?
I’ve covered prayer before, in my article on prayer as conversation. Yet, I still find myself not praying when I should be. Even my prayer journal is falling short. It seems like it would be rather simple to pray. Prayer should be as easy as pouring out your heart to God. Whether that be by talking or writing. So I have to ask myself, what stops me from praying?
One thing I know stops me from praying is that I have not made it a daily habit. As I’ve talked about before, routines are important for creating habits. In the book Atomic Habits by James Clear, he talks about cues for changing behavior and how the two most common ones are time and location.
I have not made a strong attempt to work prayer into my daily routine. I read my Bible every morning, but have not made prayer a structured part of my day. Often leaving it to when the need arises or when the moment strikes me. Not a good way to implement a habit.
Prayer needs to be a part of my daily routine. I have to get over my fear that making it routine will somehow minimize it. My prayer time will only be minimized if I allow it to be, not because I do it daily. Prayer needs to be a priority if I am going to have a lasting and meaningful relationship with God.
There are also times when I don’t feel worthy to pray. I realize the Bible is full of examples of broken people praying. David wrote many of his prayers to God, hence the book of Psalms. The Israelites constantly went their own way, then when things got tough would pray to God and He would save them.
I’m no different, yet I sometimes feel as though I shouldn’t be asking God for help if I am not being obedient. Obedience is not a pre-requisite for prayer. Yet, somehow, that concept gets stuck in my head and I don’t pray.
Finally, the worst one of all, is that I have a hard time asking for help. My life has been such that I have had to do a lot on my own. So I have been accustomed to working things out on my own. It sounds like a great trait, but when done to the extreme, it’s not. It can make you look arrogant and prideful.
I want to make prayer a priority in my life. When I pray, I am reminded that He is with me, always. The only way that‘s going to get accomplished is through habit and discipline. I have to be willing to change my thoughts about prayer, and willing to make it a habit. So, I am going to add a specific time in my morning routine and evening routine for prayer.
God wants to hear from us. He knows what’s in our heart already. But the act of praying shows Him that we want to have a relationship with Him. And it can’t only be, "I’ll talk to Him on Sunday." He deserves much more of us than that. I want to give Him that because He saved me.
Do you pray? If not, what stops you from praying? If you’re not a believer, then how do you find spiritual connection? I’d love to hear your thoughts.
—Daniel