The Problem with Prayer

Why is it so many followers of Jesus find the consistent practice of prayer to be a struggle?  The gospel tells us that because of Jesus we've been restored to friendship with God-the most beautiful being in the universe desires to be with us.  He moved through time and space to make that happen, to bring us into His eternal community of love, peace and life that is truly life.  We believe Jesus is real and we say we have a relationship with Him, so why don’t we pray?

To be fair, this was a question for myself. And it's not like I never pray, I actually pray a lot of little one liners throughout my day. You know those kind of prayers; the muttered "Lord have mercy," the desperate one word, "please!" and the big sighs directed upward. Much like modern middle schooler texting really...rapid fire, on the fly, as few vowels as possible. Don't get me wrong, I don't think there's a secret formula and liturgy that excludes those expressions as prayer per se - I'm just saying that for me, treating prayer simply like talking to my best friend let me get pretty lazy about it not to mention comfortable in an unproductive way. And yes, I can dutifully check off one of those prayer acronyms with the best of 'em, but in the face of quarantine and an imploding world, my experience of prayer seemed woefully inadequate. I wanted to be with Jesus, I needed real relationship with Him in a very desperate way, so why couldn't I get my act together around prayer? Why did it feel more like duty than love?

I think it's fair to say there are a few barriers to prayer that we all share-regardless of how healthy our prayer life is.  

First, we live in a distracted age where technology, consumerism and social interaction relentlessly jockey for our time and attention.  In case you haven't noticed, slowing and silence are not exactly valued by the world around us. So we take on life faster and louder, leaving little time and energy to devote to the discipline of prayer(oh right, did we mention it's considered a discipline?).

Second, we live in a very affluent society.  Most of us lack for little, and what we do “need,” money can often buy faster than prayer can provide it.  The “I can do it myself” mantra of our secular, humanist, individual age, often explains why we don’t stop to pray before launching into action. We breathe the secular air that proclaims hustlers, self-starters and entrepreneurs as those who will inherit the kingdom and the humble posture of prayer seems weak in comparison. On the flip side, we've all felt a bit uneasy at those who proclaim boldly that prayer is all you need to live healthy and wealthy and "blessed." Somehow it doesn't seem to track when a great number of Jesus followers around the world live (with joy even!)in real poverty.

But these barriers actually reveal something even more significant. Many of the common reasons for lack of prayer in a believer’s life might come from a basic misunderstanding of what prayer is in the first place!  We're used to seeing prayer as a means of acquiring something; financial help, health and comfort, but we may not recognize that the most important thing prayer enables us to acquire is Jesus Himself.   

Another misunderstanding is that prayer is just one more therapeutic way to inner peace and self-discovery; “a self-improvement practice that any health obsessed person should do...not unlike Crossfit or quinoa.”* This is common in a secular age that values reflection and mindfulness, but while rejuvenation, release of stress and a renewed sense of purpose are definitely by-products of Christian prayer, they are not the final destination. 

More on what prayer is on Monday, but for now it might be time stop and consider our ways when it comes to prayer:

What's the state of my prayer life...would I call it healthy and thriving or weak and floundering?  

What is it I believe about prayer and how might that be hindering me from entering fully into prayer as a way of being with Jesus, growing to know and love him more?

Why don't I pray? What barriers might I add to this list?

If you're anything like me, you may need some practice in this area.  The great thing about the Spiritual Disciplines is that they are best practiced in community.  And I'm proof that it is possible to grow in this discipline.  

Starting on Monday, we'll begin going through Jesus' Prayer in Luke 11:1-4.  We'll consider the purpose and posture of each line of the prayer, and then we'll practice praying out of that.  Set aside 10 or so minutes each day to read a short devotional teaching, dig out some context from scripture and then reflect and pray through The Lord's Prayer.

My prayer is that we'll find our way past secondhand spirituality into personal renewal in our relationship with Jesus.  

I've gotta be honest...I don't know any other way to thrive in the craziness that is 2020.

Much love to you!

K

*Skye Jethani, With God Daily