Part 2 in our Introduction to Prayer Series
Today, we are going to cover a few reasons why we do not pray. They are not reasons not to pray, but they are reasons that keep us from it. Perhaps they sound like excuses, but they are really tools that the Devil uses to make you think that you cannot pray. He wants to use every possible tool to prevent you from forming a close relationship with God.
The first reason why we often do not pray is because we do not think that our prayer can make a difference. We think about how our prayer has not been answered before, so there is no reason to think that it will be answered now. We wonder if God is even listening. We may feel like we are too emotional to pray rationally because we believe that we always have to come to God with a proper attitude. Or perhaps we start believing that our request must be too small. Why would God care about our small request when there are so many other people in the world with bigger ones?
Second, we often do not pray because we do not know how to pray. We are fearful that we will get it all wrong. We are afraid that our prayer may not be “good enough” for the great and holy one, who deserves only the best.
Third, we do not pray when we feel unworthy. We may feel guilty for having done something wrong and that we need to do something to cleanse ourselves in order to be worthy again to approach God.
And finally, we often do not pray when we do not manage our time consistent with our commitment to God. We set other priorities before we schedule time for prayer, and before we know it, there is no time left for God.
These are all tools that the Devil uses to try to get us to be less connected to God!!
