Why is prayer so intimidating? This is one of my faith habits that I’ve always felt “Not Christian enough” when I do it or don’t do it for that matter. I’m not sure why we make this out to be such a big deal. Maybe it’s because it’s a habit that we sometimes do with others, and that always leaves space for Satan to use comparison to strike at us.
Even with Jesus giving us an outline, I struggle to feel like I’m connecting with God in ways that others seem to excel at. When I hear someone that is passionate about prayer talk about how it has affected them and their relationship with God, I’m jealous. Not in a bad way, I don’t think. But I’m jealous that they seem to have cracked that code, and I haven’t.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t feel disconnected from God when I pray. It did take me a long time to get to even get to that point. But there are three main mindsets that helped me get to a place where I wanted to spend time talking to God.
It’s a conversation with God.
It seems obvious, but prayer is primarily a conversation with God. When we’re kids, we go through a stage where we just repeat prayers or recite prayers at certain times of the day. All good things, but if we don’t transition out of the phase as we grow, prayer tends to become a habit that happens before meals and bed rather than a time to check in with our Heavenly Father about how things are going.
It’s getting to know him and his will better.
Prayer and talking with God helps us talk through things we may not even realize we’re thinking until we actually say it. Sometimes wrestling through our doubts, anger, and sadness is how our relationship with God grows best because it’s building on that foundation of trusting him, even with the ugly thoughts and feelings we have.
It’s not a to-do or checklist.
This was one of the hardest things I had to get over. That mentality of doing it and checking it off. It’s a hard one to work through, but after a lot of time teaching others, which in turn taught myself about prayer, I think I have mostly gotten to a place where it’s no longer a checklist. It may seem like a hard mindset to transition away from, but with time and practice, you will get there.
Some tips to start praying
We’re going to keep it really simple. If you’re new to trying to talk to God, here are a couple of things to try to make the process a little more natural.
- Write it down: journaling is a great way to start and to help you focus during the time. Start with a one-sentence prayer and see how your prayer time can grow.
- Find a quiet place by yourself: You don’t have to be by yourself to pray, but if you’re just starting to focus on this habit, it helps. Even after all these years of talking to God, there is still a different type of peace when it’s just you and God. If you want to take that to the next level, you can make a war room. If you’re not sure what that is, check out the movie War Room.
- Check out my prayer prompt videos: There are different lengths and different types, but this may be a way for you not to start from scratch.
- Try a Prayer method: ACTS, PRAY, SOAP. If you need help with this, sign up for the newsletter to get some free printables.
- Don’t make it all or nothing: Try to set time aside every day, but if you miss, don’t give up; just do it the next time. When starting a new habit, it can take a minute to make it a habit. Just keep going.
Stay Weird,
