Why Does Prayer Feel Like a Struggle?
Have you ever knelt to pray only to find your mind wandering to that thing that you’re worried about, that programme that you watched on TV last night, or even just that lunch you’re craving for. Maybe like me in those times of distraction, you feel flat, you know you’re not focused or engaged with God and your words feel disengaged and lifeless. You are definitely not alone, as Christians we all have this romantic idea of time standing still as the glow and presence of God descends upon us and we are lost in prayer and worship. I wish that experience was the case for us all every time, but it’s rarely the case, and the struggle to pray is real.
Whether it’s the fear of not saying the right thing, or the hesitation to pray with others, prayer often feels harder than it should. Why is that? What continues to distract and keep us from an intimate time of prayer, our ongoing conversation with God and His people that we long for?
Last week, our community shared how we’re thankful for fellowship, how we are thankful for salvation and for God’s peace, yet there were many who admitted that praying with others is rare, revealing that we have been hindered by shyness or a lack of practice. We know we’re a people wired for connection, created to reflect the unity of the Father, Son, and Spirit but how do we move past these barriers to embrace prayer more easily?
In our passage this week from John 17, Jesus’ own prayer gives us a clue, pointing us to a deeper Kinship with God and with each other and so this week, as we carry on in our series on prayer, we’ll explore why prayer feels so hard and discover a simple way to approach it. With three simple ideas: Adoration, Supplication, and Kinship, hopefully these will be reminders of who God is and who God created us to be.
I pray that you will join us as we consider how we might transform prayer from a struggle into a real source of unity and love. Take a moment to read our passage from John 17:20-25 and may our hearts and minds be open to the Spirit of God. Remember our challenge this week, to pray for and with someone that you're comfortable with, it doesn't have to be long, even just a few words of blessing and thanks to start. God hears our prayers.
Many blessings
Josh
