{"id":1632,"date":"2013-01-02T09:41:34","date_gmt":"2013-01-02T16:41:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billintheblank\/?p=1632"},"modified":"2013-01-02T09:41:34","modified_gmt":"2013-01-02T16:41:34","slug":"why-i-dont-like-to-pray","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithwalkers\/2013\/01\/why-i-dont-like-to-pray\/","title":{"rendered":"Why I Don’t Like to Pray"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

I admit it. Sometimes, perhaps many times, I don\u2019t like to pray.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been a follower of Christ for over 35 years \u2014 as far back as my memory will take me. I know what the Bible says about the unimaginable power of prayer<\/a>. And I believe it.<\/p>\n

I just don\u2019t like to pray.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

There,\u00a0I said it.<\/p>\n

I know some of you are rushing to click off this post before you catch whatever my spiritual illness may be. But maybe I\u2019m not the only one who feels this way.<\/p>\n

I ran face-first into this uncomfortable reality as I read\u00a0James today, \u201cYou do not have, because you do not ask.\u201d\u00a0<\/a> From somewhere deep within me, I reacted with a whine: \u201cBut I don\u2019t want to ask.\u201d<\/p>\n

Where Did That Come From?<\/h3>\n

The offending thought came so clearly to me that I had to look around the room to make sure some secret sinner hadn\u2019t said it.\u00a0You know, some back-slidden loser in need of repentance. That\u2019s not what we\u2019re supposed to say. At least not out loud. We\u2019re supposed to act as if we\u2019ve got this faith-walk thing figured out. Right?<\/p>\n

Over the last year, I have had to explore a lot of my own thoughts about prayer as God called me away from perceived safety and security to a path that required more faith than I was used to. I won\u2019t recount it all here. You can check it out more if you want to here<\/a>. Suffice it to say that God has taught me a lot about prayer as we\u2019ve had to pray for God\u2019s daily provision and direction in a big way.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve seen him do some amazing things. The kind of things only missionaries in Africa tell about. We pray earnestly and the phone rings. We pray expectantly and the answer arrives \u2014 just in time. After what we\u2019ve seen God do, I don\u2019t know how I could even think it, let alone say it. But I still don\u2019t like to pray.<\/p>\n

Rather than ignore this embarrassing reality, I know honesty and authenticity before God and my brothers and sisters is the only way to grow. So here I am confessing my fault to you and the world along with a few thoughts as to why\u00a0I don\u2019t like to pray. Maybe you can relate. Maybe not. Maybe you\u2019ve got this one covered.<\/p>\n

6\u00a0Reasons Why I Don\u2019t Like to Pray<\/h3>\n
    \n
  1. Prayer reminds me of how small I really am.<\/strong> \u201cWhen I consider the heavens\u2026what is man that you are mindful of him?\u201d (Ps. 8:3-4)<\/a> Prayer is at its core an admission that I stand ever in need of help. In my post Help! I Need Somebody!<\/a> I confessed that I don\u2019t like feeling that way at all. I don\u2019t like to pray because I don\u2019t like being\u00a0reminded that I am but dust\u00a0that, apart from God, can do nothing.<\/li>\n
  2. I don\u2019t really believe God will answer.<\/strong> In spite of all the stories I\u2019ve heard, the plain promises of Scripture, and my own experience in seeing Him answer prayer, I still tend to doubt that He\u2019ll actually come through the next time. Crazy, I know. Yet I keep coming back to this insane desire to protect God from His own failure by not praying in the first place. Albert Camus rightly noted, \u201cMan\u2019s first faculy is forgetting.\u201d Yep, I\u2019m good at that one.<\/li>\n
  3. I think I\u2019ve got this one covered.<\/strong> Like an overconfident child, I foolishly think I can handle whatever is coming next in life. Sometimes I wonder if God rolls his eyes at us, like I do with my own overconfident children. As Demosthenese put it, \u201cNothing is so easy as to deceive one\u2019s self; for what we wish, we readily believe.\u201d James echoes this thought that we are each led astray by our own desires<\/a>, in this case a desire to lean on our own understanding.\u00a0Just like Joshua <\/a>who thought he didn\u2019t need to ask God\u2019s counsel before making a treaty with the deceptive Gibeonites, I don\u2019t believe I really need God\u2019s help.\u00a0<\/li>\n
  4. I\u2019d rather be doing something.<\/strong> Anything. All too often, I get frustrated sitting still before God, and waiting on Him. Like Martha and Peter, I\u2019d rather be doing something. Something that\u2019s within my power to do. Or so I think. I forget what Richard Cecil wisely said, \u201cPrayer is faith passing into action.\u201d Prayer is in itself the most critical action I could ever take.\u00a0As Martin Luther noted one busy day, \u201cI have so much to do that I will spend the first three hours in prayer.\u201d Maybe\u00a0I should quit trying.<\/a><\/li>\n
  5. I\u2019m lazy<\/strong>. I know you\u2019re not, but I confess that sometmes I just don\u2019t want to pray because prayer is hard work. E. M. Bounds put it this way: \u201cPrayer is the easiest and hardest of all things.\u201d Wrestling with God might cause me pain as it did Jacob.\u00a0I don\u2019t pray with intensity because prayer, the kind that lays hold of the promises of God and moves them in our direction, is hard work. And I, for one, am lazy to the core. Hence my need to discipline myself to be godly?<\/li>\n
  6. I like to sin.<\/strong> As Paul described in Romans,\u00a0my sinful self has been crucified with Christ, yet still its vestiges remain. And, let\u2019s face it, sin is pleasureable for a season. Bowing before a holy God exposes my sin. And I don\u2019t like it. Not one bit. Confessing my sin just takes me back to my prideful first reason not to pray.\u00a0But as Philip Henry put it, \u201cThe best way to fight against sin is to fight it on your knees.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    So there you have it. Why I don\u2019t like to pray. Can you relate to any of it or should I just start scourging myself\u00a0now? One thing is sure, no matter what I feel about it, I refuse to give up. I think E.M. Bounds is right:<\/p>\n

    The strongest one in Christ\u2019s Kingdom is he who is the best knocker. The secret of success in Christ\u2019s kingdom is the ability to pray. The one who can wield the power of prayer is the strong one, the holy one in Christ\u2019s Kingdom. The most important lesson we can learn is how to pray.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    Do you struggle to pray or am I the only one with this problem?\u00a0What\u00a0reasons do you have for not praying and how have you dealt with barriers to prayer?\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    I admit it. Sometimes, perhaps many times, I don\u2019t like to pray. I\u2019ve been a follower of Christ for over 35 years \u2014 as far back as my memory will take me. I know what the Bible says about the unimaginable power of prayer. And I believe it. I just don\u2019t like to pray. There,\u00a0I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1084,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[18,293],"class_list":["post-1632","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christian-living","tag-christian-living-2","tag-pray"],"yoast_head":"\nWhy I Don't Like to Pray<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I admit it. Sometimes, perhaps many times, I don't like to pray. 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