Spiritual DisciplinesSample

Prayer: A Blessing or a Burden?

It’s sad that we can find prayer a burden when it’s meant to be a blessing. We can feel guilty about not praying enough. But how do we define "enough?" We can feel disobedient when we skip a set time of prayer each day. While such set times are worthwhile, it doesn’t mean that prayer is confined to that set time. We pray at all times.

Or perhaps we figure we don’t have enough faith to have God respond to whatever prayers we pray. But remember Jesus said a mustard seed of faith is sufficient. We don’t so much need great faith in God, but faith in a great God.

When we don’t get answers to prayer, we can feel disappointed and even abandoned. There's no easy answer to that except to remind us that God knows what He’s doing even if we don’t. Also, beware of seeing prayer as a transaction where I ask God for things and He gives them to me. Prayer is about a relationship, not a business deal.

And then, never think our prayers have to be coherent, logical, doctrinally-precise utterances. Very often our prayers are unexpressed jumbled thoughts. We simply don’t know what to pray. Under stress, excessively tired, words might fail us. But just because our words might fail, doesn’t mean our prayers fail. In the end, we pray as we can, not as we can’t.

Written by DAVID REAY