Reflections on my struggle to pray

As I was reading an article challenging me to take seriously the warfare which occurs in a life of prayer, the author closed with 3 questions. One of them I hope to address here. The question is, "What strategies does the enemy use to keep you from praying?"

It would be easy to answer that question in the generic, but that would fail to bring it home personally and thus would allow me to continue in my struggles to pray. So I will answer it based upon my reflection. Busyness is the chief strategy employed against me. Since my life is available to others as a pastor, I frequently am up late reading or researching questions related to individuals and my church. This in turn causes me to be tired and unwilling to wake up early in order to pray. Then the day gets going and fills up with many appointments or tasks - visiting folks, studying for sermons, preparing for meetings, etc. Each of these things, I see as more important, or having a more immediate bearing and more fruitful harvest than prayer.

That observation leads me to the second strategy. The enemy has deceived me into thinking that activity is more important and beneficial than prayer. I have become a student of my culture and learned exactly what it has taught to me: Productivity is king. Yet this paralyzes a life of prayer, for prayer doesn't always equate to a tangible task being completed today. Rather prayer is a way of expressing dependence upon God and an inability to accomplish the tasks of life without the Father's involvement.

These two strategies have been effective for much of my life in keeping me from praying. But by naming them, and recognizing their use in my life I am becoming more aware and the choice is now clearly before my eyes. Slowly I am choosing a new way of living, a way in which prayer is an integral part of my daily life, but I still struggle. The simple changes I have made to overcome my struggle include ensuring that one meal each day is spent unhurried with my family so that we can pray and read Scripture. Additionally, I have begun carrying a prayer journal with me to record requests and answers and I seek to pray through its pages a few times each week. My goal would be daily, but I am only making it about 3 times each week at this time. Praise God, that is three times more than last year. These two changes are showing their fruit as prayer is integrating itself into my life.

So I close with the question I opened with, "What strategies does the enemy use to keep you from praying?" ...Read more