Three Obstacles to Meaningful Prayer
A few months ago, I wanted to study and write on the topic of prayer, but after searching, I realized there wasn’t a single book devoted to prayer on my bookshelf. After weeks of study, I found this foundational Christian practice to be the gateway to a divine experience. A deep prayerful experience with God was the result.
Prayer tip - I found that praying on my knees increased my focus and made the touchstone of humility more easily accessible. The soul and the body are intimately connected. Where one goes, the other must follow.
Most people fail at rich, consistent prayer for three reasons. It took me years to realize that these obstacles also applied to me.
Reason #1 - Exposure:
We don't like to be frail, it goes against our nature. That's why we pray fervently when bad things happen, yet when good things happen, we are less affected because deep down, we think we got what we deserve.
Can we answer why the top 10% of world income earners primarily use prayer for petition rather than praise or adoration? Our prayer problem has more to do with our habit of seeing life by what we don’t have rather than what we do have… undeservedly. Ultimately, we pray that God would give us what we want so that we don’t have to depend on Him. It’s no surprise more of our prayers go seemingly unanswered.
Reflection Question: What does it say about our posture toward God when bad circumstances drive us to fervent prayer, but rarely does an unexpected good produce such fervent prayers of gratitude?
Reason #2 - False Positive:
You pray almost every day, and it's easy. This is common for those who view prayer primarily as a checkbox item. You are likely sending prayers up, hoping God will have an effect on the things you can't control anyway. There's no connection or vulnerability. Get through it so it can be finished for the day. The answer is not to stop checking prayer off the list. No no. Keep praying, except make your next prayer about getting raw with God. Tell Him exactly what is on your mind. He can handle it.
Psalm 13:1-2: "How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day after day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me?"
Use this Psalm as a starting point for getting raw with God. You may be disguising your true heart as politeness. God doesn’t want the edited version of you. Get raw with God for a few days and see how you might experience His kindness despite or even because of a feeling that God is distant or nonplussed.
Reason #3: - Failure to use Scripture:
Prayer is not creating poetry out of thin air, hoping God likes what you've crafted. Use scripture as prayer templates to teach you how to pray. The disciples needed Jesus to teach them how to pray, so He gave them a prayer map, "The Lord’s Prayer.”
Next, we need to pray through the Lord's Prayer as well as passages that tell us about who God is. Reword each section of the Lord’s Prayer in your own words. A rich example of this is modeled by Martin Luther paraphrasing the section of the Lord’s Prayer: Thy will be done.
Grant us grace to bear willingly all sorts of sickness, poverty, disgrace, suffering and adversity and to recognize that in this your divine will is crucifying our will.
If you feel defeated because you can barely find time to pray, much less improve the quality of your prayers, don’t worry; we’ve all been there. Even Dr. Tim Keller admits he didn't have a consistent prayer life until nearing his 40s and after years of pastoral ministry.
Make up your mind that prayer is going to happen. Identify which obstacle is holding you back most and do something about it. We all have an internal “no” that keeps us from trying. We think it won't work, it won’t matter, or if we strive to improve, then we are legalistic. It’s all nonsense. If God is real and you are a Christian…go get in front of him in the manner He commanded. Prayer will change your life if you commit to the practice and patiently be with God.
Use passages like the Lord’s Prayer or a short Psalm as a guide to refocus your prayers. If you need a starting place, paraphrase the Lord's Prayer in your own words. You will be amazed how a little structure will lead you to more worship and contentment.
More to come on enhancing your prayer practice.
A 7-day prayer guide for the disenchanted Christian.
Devote yourself to 7 Days of Prayer.
Other Recommendations:
Keller, Timothy. Prayer, Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God.
Valley of Vision, A collection of Puritan Prayers.
Best Praxis,
Jordan McKinney
Quote Source:
Martin Luther, “Personal Prayer Book,” in Luther’s works: Devotional Writings II, ed. Gustv K. Wiencke, vol 43 (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1968), 29.
Timothy Keller, Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God (New York: Dutton, 2014).