When we find ourselves struggling to pray, we feel burdened with guilt. And then we try to fix it by trying to pray more. Adding time blocks, and such. This is fine, this is noble. It’s at least good that your conscience feels remorse for being prayerless.
But have you noticed that trying to force prayer often doesn’t really work?
And it shouldn’t. Prayer should be something beautiful, more than a chore.
There are many sources of prayerlessness, and the solution ultimately depends on the specific cause. Nonetheless, I have come upon a practice that heals a prayerless soul in a sustainable way.
It’s meditation. Taking a verse of scripture, and thinking on it. Feeling it, and letting it feel you. Exploring it.
I have found that nothing provokes prayer like meditating on the scriptures. Before long, I bolt up and begin to pace the room, often praying in the spirit. Gradually, you find yourself praying for longer periods, with a more focused mind.
True prayer is focused. A good way to know you’re not praying is that your mind is on other things.
Prayer is conversation with God, with the Father. He has written to us, When our souls wax cold and our schedules are tight, a good place to start is to take up a verse of scripture and reflect on it.
Heart Softeners.
If you have been away from the written Word for long, it may not have that effect on you. It’s possible your mind is so distracted, so far from communion that you can’t even bring yourself to meditate on scripture. Your heart needs to be softened again. No worries—what you need is a good devotional. Let a writer unfold the scripture to you. Read it, and let it warm you up.
Another heart softener is worship music. Play a faithful song you know, that has done a number on you in the past, and let it soak your soul. Then you can go back to reflecting on scriptures.
Take a verse of scripture, and reflect on it. If that’s all you’re able to do today, you have done enough.