The greatest obstacle to prayer

One of the greatest blessings of knowing God as our heavenly Father is that we can speak to him. He is a God who intimately cares for all our needs. He knows what we need even before we ask (Matt 6:8). He wants us to constantly reach out to him in prayer, bringing to him the needs and concerns that are on our hearts. Repeatedly God urges us to pray: ‘Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you’ (1Pet 5:7), ‘Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge’ (Ps 62:8), ‘Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you’ (Matt 7:7).

Why then do we find it so difficult to pray? Why do we rarely find ourselves on our knees, asking, seeking and knocking at God’s door? Why is it that when we do knock, we are often like the boy who knocks and then quickly runs away before the door is opened? Many of us find so little satisfaction and joy in prayer. (Let me be honest and say that I too find it difficult and hard to pray!)

Many of us would blame our prayerlessness on a busy and frantic lifestyle. We already find it hard to fit in all that needs to be done. Our bodies and minds are racing from one thing to another. And even when we stop to pray, it is done quickly and efficiently. Busyness is certainly a major hindrance to prayer. But there is a bigger problem than this.

The greatest obstacle is not so much a busy lifestyle, but an inbuilt desire to be in control. We would rather be self-sufficient than dependent. We would rather be self-determining, than let God decide the outcome. We would rather hide our sin and be strong, that be vulnerable and admit our failures and weaknesses. Our busyness in many ways reflects our desire to be self-sufficient and in control. The result is that we often fail to stop, to pray and to find our rest in God.

What then must we do to renew and transform our prayer lives? Firstly, we need to admit to God our desire to be self-sufficient. We need to admit that haven’t trusted him. Rather than let God be God, our natural and sinful desire is to be in control. We need to humble ourselves and recognise the root cause of the problem. Secondly, we need to acknowledge our utter dependence on him. For every spiritual, physical and material need – we depend on our loving heavenly Father. He is in control and we need him. Thirdly, remember that he loves you and always has your best interests at heart. ‘God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us’ (Rom 5:8). What God wants most of all is not our short-lived pleasures, but our eternal and everlasting joy in him. He wants us to grow in our love and devotion to him, that we might be more and more like his son Jesus (Rom 8:28-29).

Ultimately it is not time management that will transform our prayers, but humility and brokenness. For this is the kind of prayer that brings us to our knees and which is most pleasing to God. After he was exposed to his own sinfulness and shame, David recognised this wonderful aspect of God’s character when he wrote, ‘The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise’ (Ps 51:17).