how to: part 1

So what do you do if you find it difficult to pray? It’s true that entire libraries could be filled with all of the pages of print that have been devoted to this subject. In light of this humbling reality, I must admit that I have nothing new or revolutionary to add. However, in the next few entries, I will pass on a few insights that I have found particularly helpful.

In the past few months, I have been using passages from God’s Word as a kind of mental anchor during my times of prayer. I am easily distracted when alone in my “prayer closet.” It can be hard to sit still, both physically and mentally, which makes it difficult to enter into the Lord’s rest. And yet, I am finding that the first step in a fruitful moment of prayer is to enter into the Lord’s rest. The Word helps me to take this step.

Before I continue with that thought, let me back up a moment and point out what prayer is NOT. Unfortunately, in ignorance, I have given much time in the past to an activity that I thought was prayer, but that really wasn’t. This activity was often frustrating and unfulfilling for me, but I didn’t know why. After all, I was praying!! Or, so I thought. Although I had often heard people speak of prayer as “conversation” with God, I never really grasped (or perhaps even believed in) what that really meant. The activity that I mistook for prayer was a one-way monologue in which I verbally presented a list of requests to God in hopes that He would hear and answer. Deep down I knew that this was not at all relational or interactive, but I was unaware of any other way to go about it.

I am convinced that one reason why so many believers find themselves giving little if any time to prayer is because they have yet to grasp what prayer really is, much less how to put it into practice. One challenging thing about prayer is that it is counter-cultural to the core. Genuine prayer revolves around practices that are very unnatural and even foreign to us. An obvious reason for that is because prayer is participation in a relationship with a Being that is from an entirely different realm of existence. It is the most extreme form of cross-cultural encounter.

I mentioned above that the first step in commencing a moment of prayer is to enter the Lord’s rest. What does that mean? Though it is still somewhat of a mystery to me, I can say that entering the Lord’s rest has something to do with mentally and spiritually crossing from one state into another. It is removing myself from the whirlwind of work and worry, in order to enter into the peaceful and patient presence of my Lord. It is here, in this foreign place (though I must say that it becomes more and more familiar with time) that genuine prayer emerges. And I use the term emerges because often I find that, once I have entered this place of rest in the Lord’s presence, words seem to escape from my mouth directly from my heart without having taken the long-way round through my mind.

There is much more to say about this entering of the Lord’s rest as a precursor for genuine prayer, but let me finish this entry by acknowledging that I have found the Word to be an invaluable help in this endeavor. And it truly is an endeavor. Making the transition from a “normal” mental state into this other restful place that I am referring to is no easy stroll through the park. My mind is bombarded by distractions: things that need to be done today, ideas for future projects, faces of people I should contact, lyrics for new songs or poems, a lengthy list of requests that I know I should pray for . . . aaaaah!! Get me out of here!!

But if I start with a simple passage from God’s word, it gives me something to hang on to when these waves of distraction start to pound me from within. Often, I will choose a short phrase, like, “his grace is sufficient for me.” I may repeat that phrase over and over again for several minutes as I allow my thoughts to calm down and my pulse to slow a bit. Eventually I start to sense the peace of the Lord descending upon me and I will feel the liberty to begin to interact with Him.

I will discuss more of what this interaction can look like in a future entry, but for now, let it be said that often as this interaction takes place, the distractions will return. It is at these moments, when I realize that I am off track, that I have left the place of rest momentarily, that I turn back to my passage once again: his grace is sufficient for me . . . his grace is sufficient for me . . . his grace is sufficient for me. Soon, in fact, this time round it will happen much more quickly than when I first started, I will find the peace and rest returning, and once again will sense the liberty to continue in prayer.

In closing, does this mean that the Lord doesn’t hear the rushed requests that we so often throw His way? I am by no means suggesting that. The Lord knows that we are weak and ignorant children, much more like sheep even than children. He is anxious to hear us and anxious to meet our need. However, what I am suggesting is that the activity of prayer that He invites us into is something far more wonderful and transformational than many of us have come to know or experience. And this is why the disease of prayerlessness is so rampant among us.

Come and heal our disease, dear Lord. Please teach us to pray. Amen.