That moment when you tell yourself you need to pray but you procrastinate. That time when you promised you will pray first thing in the morning but deep down you know you never have time in the mornings.
Sound familiar?
You’re in good company.
Most of us want to pray.
We want to commune with God. There are even times when we are the ones who encourage others to pray but we are not doing the very thing we preach.
Why though?
Why are you often tired, distracted, busy etc. just at the times when you could be praying?
To answer these age-old questions, we must start with a dose of honesty. Would you say your epileptic prayer life has more to do with you than the external circumstances around you?
Remember no shame here. This is not about praying for hours or what not! We are different and in very different seasons of our lives.
This is about you and God.
Guide to praying when you can’t seem to pray
Here are a few tips and ‘tricks’ to get you talking to your lover and your friend (I mean God, just in case that wasn’t obvious):
Just pray
No drama, no BS. Just pray.
This may seem very unhelpful. You may be wondering why I would tell you to pray when that’s the very thing you can’t seem to do.
I hear you but listen.
Any time you remember that you haven’t prayed, just do it. Rather than agonizing about your lack of a prayer life or waiting for the perfect time, use that time to pray. Remember that it’s not a ceremony or something you need to do in a small room with the windows firmly shut or in your perfect prayer closet with the prayer wall and all the cute spiritual keepsakes and mementoes like what we saw in ‘The War Room’. Prayer is about communication with God and it can happen anywhere and at anytime. ‘Just do it!’
Work against your proclivities
Are you the queen of excuses and justifications? Do you always have the perfect reason for your inability to pray? Welcome to the club.
Now, it’s time to work against those usual excuses and reasons.
What is yours?
Perhaps you tell yourself you will pray after work when you have time to concentrate and all that jazz. But you end up tired and go on to other things. Nope! That will not work today. Not on my watch. Just get to it.
Pray. Right. Now
Or maybe you remind yourself that you need to listen to some worships songs, you know, need a little Tasha Cobbs with a sprinkle of Hillsong to get in the mood.
Ehmm…nope! What if you were stuck somewhere (it could happen aka Coronavirus) with no access to radios or *gasp* the Internet? Would that mean you would never pray? Of course not!
Just get to it! Your voice is fine. I’m sure Jesus doesn’t mind if you’re tone-deaf or only remember one worship song.
Get accountability
Do you have someone who can call you out on your nonsense? Great!
We need this person to hold you accountable. We don’t want someone who will join in your excuses and who will allow you go scot-free though we also don’t want anyone who will judge or ridicule you. Nope! This is prayer and not a competition.
Ask HS for help
Well, this goes without saying but I guess we should still say it. Anything we are doing without the help/direction of the Holy Spirit may as well be an exercise in futility. Like, who better to help us in the eternal battle against our flesh than the one that actually gives life to our spirit? Sis, don’t toil when you have direct access to one whose ‘…yoke is easy and his burden light’. Get help!
Get off your sweet lazy bum and ask God to take over.
Get over yourself
I feel like this is repetition but let’s just go with it. Many times, and I speak for fellow ‘lazyians’ and ‘procrastinators’, we are often too insular – worried about ourselves and the reasons (which always make sense to us) we can’t do what we should, forgetting that it’s not really about us. It’s never really been about you or me. Even when the world screams self-care and tells us it’s okay to focus on ourselves, we cannot deny the truth that it’s not about us.
For better emphasis, here’s what Jesus said about how we can pray:
“Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.
May your kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today the food we need, and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us.
And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one.”
Matthew 6:9-13
You might have glossed through the above scripture verses – we often do this for popular/common verses. But may I encourage you to go back and read those words slowly.
Who features significantly in it?
Yep, that’s right. This scripture is about God and so is prayer. It is an incredible opportunity for us to talk with our father. To let him know that without him we struggle – we struggle to stay in peace, to remain content, to love, to forgive, to be kind amongst other things.
I understand this struggle and I know I am hopeless without God. You would imagine that knowing these things, all the good and great things we need and can do will automatically lead to them being done.
If only, right?
But…
Self-sabotage is real and it is a spiritual battle. We must continually go against the grain – against what our flesh wants and the evil within. It whispers to us; ‘why do you want to pray when you can do anything but pray?’
That’s the million-dollar question.
Here’s what Paul had to say about the battle.
“So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions.”
Galatians 5:16-17
This is real and serious stuff. Whatever happens, please don’t get lost in a myriad of excuses.
The Lazy Girl’s Prayer Guide: A little honesty helps
There you have it, a few reasons to get you on your knees with your eyes closed and your hands clasped in front of you. Okay, I’m kidding. It’s not so much about the posture of the body but of the heart.
Sis, it’s time for us to get over ourselves, ask HS for help, get accountability and get praying.
May our Heavenly Father strengthen us as we seek to spend more time with him. Amen
Do you have any more tips or perhaps you have a similar story, please share with us in the comments.
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