When Prayer Doesn't Come Easily

Seasons of dryness are part of our walk with Christ.  Sometimes our spiritual gardens burst with life. Other times they’re parched, dry, and brown.

Cultivating sensible faith requires recognition and attention to these seasons so we don’t dry up. For followers of Christ, a vital element of that cultivation is prayer.

I have to confess, prayer has never come easy for me. For a few hardy prayer warriors, talking with God is as easy as breathing; it happens almost effortlessly. When you ask them how they do it, they simply shrug and reply, "I just pray."

Unfortunately, for some of us that's about as helpful as a golf champion saying "I just hit the ball." We need a little more instruction to get the job done.

Most of those whose prayers are recorded in the Bible engaged both their hearts and their minds in the process. We should do the same.

I try to start my prayer time with a hymn that moves my heart because it expresses my genuine wonder or affection towards God, or my humble surrender to Him. Then I spend time thanking God for specific things in my life. Finally, I focus on petition, praying intelligibly, specifically, and persuasively.

Here are some other practical guidelines I’ve personally found helpful in cultivating a more fruitful prayer life. If you begin incorporating a few of them, I'm confident your own time with the Lord will improve and your faith will be refreshed.

• Make a list of prayer items on a scratch pad to guide you.
• Choose a specific place to pray away from distractions so you can concentrate.
• Pray out loud. When we pray out loud we have to form intelligent sentences. We have to concentrate more on what we're praying about.
• Pray short, sincere prayers. If the thought of laboring over a topic wears you out, pray in short paragraphs instead. A few sentences may be all that's needed to exhaust the topic for you for the time being. If so, just move on to the next item without feeling guilty for your brevity.
• Redeem time for prayer from unused corners of your schedule.
• Pray with someone else. Though some prayers can only be said in solitude, there will be times you'll want to join hearts with another person in prayer. Such prayer trysts often become powerful, life-changing habits.
• Keep a prayer journal.

Try these ideas. They can make a big difference to bring refreshment in the dry spells.

Comments

[Terry Palmer]

I've found too that when I am harboring some sins, it is hard to pray and the ground becomes dry and barren.

John Owen said:
"Unmortified sin untunes the heart by entagling the affections. Fear, desire, and hope are the choicest affections meant for God, but sin hijacks them for itself."

If your heart is "untuned", look to your choices you've made in the last week. I know that really kills my desire to pray when I am harboring a sin.

[David]

Thank-you

[Richard Romano]

I like Greg's comment about "unused corners" of our schedules -- I pray when I'm driving to work, instead of listening to music or the news.

I begin the day, then, with Him, asking him for wisdom and strength; to help me see others as He sees them, and to remember that I'm utterly dependent upon Him and His grace.

This puts my heart in the right condition before the day's incidents begin, whether good or bad.

[Tor Hershman]

"Reason," it just goes to show.....paper/internet does not resist ink/input.

[Jonad]

The routine of praying the same thing everyday is sometimes getting dry. A christian should do extra work for God and adjust their routine. Because when prayer feels like a chore there will be no substance to what we say in relation to what we always do; work, leisure, eat etc.