The Disciplined Life: Prayer 2
Last time, I discussed the importance of prayer and why it matters. You can find that post here.
I want to take the time to talk about barriers to prayer. If prayer were easy or desired, we would find more churches, more people hosting prayer meetings.
I once tried to host a 12 hour prayer night at the church I was attending at the time. I encouraged everyone to come out and be part of it. I drew up the "flow" of the night and what we would pray for. I purchased snacks for the night if people got hungry. I reminded those that attended church with me throughout the week when I saw them in town.
The night came and I unlocked the doors and turned the lights on. I made slides that loaded onto the screen. I played CDs for ambiance throughout the evening. I was ready!
But do you know that out of 115 people that attended on a regular Sunday, only 5 showed up? I stayed through the entirety of it and stuck to my plan, unwavered by the lack of attendance. It was one of the most impactful times of prayer I had personally.
Charles Spurgeon, the "Prince of Preachers", was known to give powerful sermons in his day in London. What parishioners may not have known about his meetings is there would be hundreds of people praying in the basement or some kind of room before the meeting would start. Spurgeon would attribute much of his oratory success to those who went before him to pray.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon
Barriers to prayer
Though it's already been talked about previously, I will mention that our attitude and views on prayer matters. In regard to asking for wisdom, James mentions in his letter,
“6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.”
Again, we don't treat God like a genie, coming to Him with a list of demands and expecting answers for every one of them, renouncing Him if He doesn't answer. That's not the way that our lives of faith and relationship in God works.
Another barrier to prayer is distraction. It is hard for us to take the time to come and spend just five minutes with God when we are tethered to our phones and smart devices. We cannot keep focus because we are wondering who just sent us a text or who is getting the most likes on their social media.
A simple solution: set your phone and electronics in another room! Uninterrupted time in prayer will produce fruitful substance in your life. Think about it: you are getting ready to commune with the creator of the universe! You are going to spend time reflecting on the One who knows you better than anyone else on this planet does. You are making space and time to not only talk with Him but to listen! With that in mind, wouldn't it be wise to set aside gadgets for the duration of your prayer time? Trust me, your friends and family will be okay without being able to get hold of you for five to ten minutes!
Not knowing how to pray can be a barrier to prayer. If you are just starting out and have never really prayed before, try it a few times on your own before consulting books or articles on how to pray. Just like when you were a toddler and began forming words, so prayer takes time to accurately articulate what you want to say.
Jesus gave us a great example of prayer when he taught his disciples in Matthew 6. He even tells them that they don't need to be so wordy when they pray.
This brings up the question of how long do we need to pray. If Jesus tells his disciples to not go on and on when they pray (Mt 6:7-8), should all of our prayers be short? Not necessarily. There are cases in the Bible where it is favorable to pray a quick prayer based on the situation. Nehemiah comes to mind.
Nehemiah is serving as cupbearer to King Artaxerxes when he learns that the walls of Jerusalem have been destroyed. He reacts:
“4 When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven. ”
For some days. This was no short prayer. This was a distress call to the God of heaven. Five minutes wouldn't do. Five hours wouldn't even suffice. For some days is the amount of time we are given that Nehemiah spent in prayer, mourning, and fasting.
In Nehemiah 2, he is serving the king when the king notices Nehemiah's countenance in disarray. He had never been sad before the king before while serving, so Artaxerxes knows something isn't right. When he asks Nehemiah what is wrong, Nehemiah throws a quick prayer to God (Nehemiah 2:1-5). He did not have the time to spend in prayer right away as he was in the presence of the king and needed to provide an answer.
So, the length of prayer should be taken into consideration given the situation we are in. If we are in a dorm room and there are two hours of free time before the next class, we could afford to spend more than 15 minutes in prayer.
We learn in prayer by practicing. If you want to get better at something, you take the time to practice, practice, practice!
Once you have developed basic understanding and grasp of prayer, add resources to your repertoire that will further develop your personal prayer life. Tim Keller's book on prayer is a great resource. Andrew Murray's book, "Lord, teach us to pray", is also a good read (0.99 on Kindle!)
One of the better resources that have helped me in my own prayer life has been the ACTS prayer plan. Developed by the Navigators, this resource helps go through different categories in our prayer life (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication). It closely models what Jesus taught his disciples in Matthew 6.
Speaking of Matthew 6 and the Lord's prayer, that is also a good method to pray. With three admonitions on who God is and three petitions on our behalf, we can pray with assurance and boldness. Reformation theologian, Martin Luther, was known to pray the Lord's prayer twice a day, putting into his own words what Jesus conveyed when he taught the disciples.
Another barrier in prayer is when we entertain sinful desires. To be clear, this is not the same as someone who is repentant and turning away from sin. Entertaining sinful desires are when we are in a relationship with the Lord and choose to have sin as a side piece.. The psalmist puts it like this...
“Come and hear, all you who fear God;
let me tell you what he has done for me.
17 I cried out to him with my mouth;
his praise was on my tongue.
18 If I had cherished sin in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened;
19 but God has surely listened
and has heard my prayer.
20 Praise be to God,
who has not rejected my prayer
or withheld his love from me!”
There is nothing that can separate God's love for us that is in Jesus Christ (Romans 8:37-39).
When we remove barriers in prayer, we find that connection with God comes easier and is infinitely sweeter.
