Prayerlessness

Praying does not always come easy. There are times when I feel too tired, miss the alarm, or just procrastinate. Before long, days have passed, and this slowly becomes a routine. Of course, there may be the quick mumbled prayer as I jump out of bed, into the car or behind my desk at work. I may thank God for the day, ask for his protection, or for his help through a daunting task. But I find myself thinking there has got to be more to prayer than that.

There are times when I tell myself that God already knows my heart, what I think and what I feel, so there is no need to say much. I may set aside time to pray, but I am short of words. I easily get distracted or doze off.

In times like this, I need to pull away from my daily routine to see how I may get back on track. I am reminded of a quote by Jackie Hill Perry, which said that prayerlessness is almost always a humility issue. We make excuses of busyness or a lack of discipline but deep down, it is pride that deludes us into thinking that we are self-sufficient. To be more prayerful we need to face the reality that we are perpetually needy and dependent on God – even when it does not feel like it.

As I reflect some more, something tells me to examine my heart, because prayer is not just about having a long request list but communing and building relationship with my divine creator and father. The one who cares for me and longs to be in fellowship not because he needs it, but because I desperately do.

I decide to start over. Like the disciples, I ask God to teach me to pray and use the Lord’s prayer as a starting point for my daily prayer. I write out a couple of daily prayers based on scripture – reading through these provides a sense of rejuvenation; like a car battery being jump started.

I pull out my hardcover bible as I realize I have been too reliant on my bible app, and highlight verses that would encourage me as I pray throughout the day. I decide to set time aside each day for prayer. I may be a bit hard on myself when I fail, but the most important thing is that I keep trying.

I try to make time for silence in prayer – that I may hear what God is saying to me. After all, relationships and communication go both ways. Who wants to be in a relationship where you only hear from the other person when they need something, or be stuck with someone who does all the talking, not listening to what you have to say?

Most importantly, I seek to search my heart and turn away from any thoughts or habits that may be drawing me away from God, to set my heart on eternity rather than what is in front of me, and to always find something to be thankful for, and praise God. It is in these moments that I start to see a shift……