12 Comments to 'When I Don’t Want To Pray'
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When I Don’t Want To Pray
Posted By Guest Contributor
“Oh, God, You are my God; I earnestly search for You. My soul thirsts for You; my whole body longs for You in this parched and weary land where there is no water (Ps. 63:1).”
There was a lie that I believed for a long time about prayer. I would think, “I don’t feel like praying today” or “I don’t need to pray today”. And I have gotten into some serious spiritual dryness every time I have listened to this lie.
Now, please don’t misunderstand - I’m not saying that I set aside time with the Lord 365 days a year. I understand that there are times when we absolutely cannot get away to be alone with the Lord. Times of exhaustion, illness, and having a newborn are times when I have offered up my weary heart to Him and trusted in His faithfulness alone. I’m not talking about those times.
No, I’m referring to the times when I feel particularly self-important, buried in my self-imposed busyness–those were the times I was listening to that lie. “Don’t need to…don’t feel like it.”
What do I do when I don’t want to pray? What can I do when I am not thirsty for Him?
THE FIRST THING I DO IS PRAY FOR A DESIRE TO PRAY. That may sound weird, but it’s what I do. I have to say out loud, “Lord, give me a desire to pray. Give me a sense of what life looks like when I try to do it without Your leading and Your Word. God, I’m not hungry for You right now—make me hungry for You. Please, God, give me a passion to be with You.”
The thing is, God WANTS to answer that prayer. I used to think faith was about seeing my situation changed, but the longer I walk with Jesus, the more I realize faith is about trusting who He is in every situation . So I can pray for a hunger for Him, and He will answer. And my faith increases as I become more aware of His Presence.
THE SECOND THING I DO WHEN I DON’T WANT TO PRAY IS THAT I SPEND TIME WITH THE LORD ANYWAY. I make myself available to Him. I put Him first even when I don’t want to. Because, the truth is, there are days when my prayer time is not effective, my walk with Him is dry, and I feel discouraged. But as I have developed consistency in spending time with Him, those times are not as frequent. So the question is no longer “Will I pray today?” but rather “Why don’t I want to pray today, Lord? I’m still showing up this morning to talk to you. So can we talk about this? Show me my heart, Holy Spirit.”
This is my prayer for this day for us as we seek Him: Lord, I want to be a “tree planted by streams of water (Ps. 1)”. Give me the wisdom to plant myself by You, Jesus, the Living Water. I ask for eyes to see life and death in how I order my days. Amen.
Visit Jess today: Mourning Into Dancing
Aug 10th, 2007
This is a great reminder. There were times when I went through trials and I don’t remember praying much, but I remember asking others to pray for me–and relying on that.
My mother had a dear friend who always used to lovingly admonish us, “It is never hypocritical to ACT the way God would want you to feel.”
She was right- and that even includes coming to God in prayer, even when we don’t feel like it. Asking God to give us the desire to pray is a prayer He will always answer with YES!
I have these days too…sometimes I’ll just offer up a “Good morning, God!” And that’s all I feel I have time for. Thanks for the ideas to get out of that funk.
What a great reminder. I love your insight - “So the question is no longer “Will I pray today?” but rather “Why don’t I want to pray today, Lord?” - Wow - I will remember that!!!! THANKS
I, too think those are great insights and encouragement. However, honestly, the idea of praying that God would “Give me a sense of what life looks like when I try to do it without Your leading and Your Word.” scares me. I automatically think that means He is going to zap me with some trial to cause me to depend on Him. Any thoughts of what to do with that fear?
I need your discipline.
This is so true, we need to constantly keep in touch with God, and make time for prayer and Bible reading even when we don’t feel like it, that’s the only way to constantly grow spiritually.
Thanks for your thoughts.
I agree. What great insight. I will definitely use your advice. Thanks.
Thanks for your honesty. I know this is an area I struggle in as well, yet God is gracious and praise Him for His mercy!
You’ve spoken honestly for each of us, and given us a strong reminder. Funny how we become so self-sufficient in our own minds, isn’t it? Thank you.
Jill,
I completely understand your fear. I guess when I pray for God to give me a sense of what life looks like when I don’t pray, it’s not that I think He’s going to zap me; rather, I’m asking Him to show me all the mistakes I would make if I tried to do my life on my own.
He wants us to draw near to Him, to be filled daily with His presence-not because we’re afraid of what will happen when we don’t, but because of how much joy there is when we do!
love jess
Its very interesting that other women have those days too, at the moment I feel very dry and without direction, I know now it is because I have not felt like praying for a long time, I feel so angry with myself with letting myself get to this place, thank you for your posting I am going to spend some alone time with Him now, x