All Christians know that prayer is foundational to the Christian life. In fact, most people in general believe that prayer is important. According to an Opinion Dynamics Corporation poll in 2004, “Almost one third of Americans say they pray several times per day; two thirds say they pray at least once per day and only about 1 in 10 say that they never pray.” That would likely back up the idea that people believe prayer is important. However, a less scientific poll conducted by me over the years indicates that “of people who believe prayer is important, more than 80% (when asked) say that they don’t pray enough.”
There seem to be two things at play when we look at this closely. First, most people pray and believe it is important to do so. Second, though most people seem to feel as though prayer is important, they also feel that they don’t pray enough. So, what is the resistance? Why don’t people pray more who are convinced that they must? I believe there are three basic resistance factors that seem to limit prayer even in those who desire to pray more.
The first and most obstinate resistance is caused by our busyness. Prayer can be done on the run, but not very well or consistently. No matter how good of a multi-tasker you are, you can only focus on so many things for so long. The busier we are, the less we pray. Period! People who are focused on a cell phone conversation can rarely concentrate well on driving- accident statistics back that up. Well, I guarantee you that even if you pray in the car, as I do, those times of prayer don’t go as deeply as you would like as the car in front of you just slammed on the breaks to miss the child on the bicycle.
Second, a prideful self-confidence or the complimentary shameful lack of faith in God is always something that will push prayer to the last resort. “There’s nothing else we can do, so we should pray” is the response that betrays this subtle belief. We think we have the primary responsibility and ability to fix things while God is somehow limited in this view, ability or understanding. Our lives are consumed with self-control or self-determination which makes prayer an optional exercise. In those cases, we may deeply desire prayer, but it really doesn’t hold a sense of urgency or unqualified importance.
Third, lack of practice is a subtle but real problem that creates resistance. I listen to people pray sometimes who are just not accustomed to talking to God. It is like the teenage boy who is not used to talking to girls but forced to do so. Whether the problem exists due to lack of understanding, relationship, confidence or practice, the result is the same- stammering, saying things that are repetitive and cliché, saying things that they don’t really mean, speaking in ways that are not normal for that person or just sounding silly. And, like in all matters, if we don’t practice it we likely aren’t very good at it and hence, we won’t likely want to do it.
This last one was an issue for me many years ago. As a result, five minutes of prayer seemed like an eternity. I remember once trying to pray uninterrupted and undistracted for 10 minutes. When I reached the end, I felt like I had climbed Mt. Everest. I was emotionally exhausted and spiritually sweaty. I laugh now when I look back. These days, I hardly get comfortable within the first 10 minutes of prayer.
Are you one of those who really want to pray, but find yourself resisting the very thing you want to do? Pick the issue that needs to be addressed. It will likely mean that you do one of these: slow down; or realize that nothing really important is ever accomplished aside from God’s response to prayer instead of human effort; or start practicing. It may be that you need all three. It is sweet when that which is important also becomes common and second nature.