The Problem of Prayer

The Problem of Prayer

There are a good many things about which our talking outpaces our doing. I would put prayer in this category. We talk about prayer more than we pray. Why? Why is prayer such a problem?

There may be a host of reasons, but one would be our desire to solve our own problems in our own way and according to our own schedules. We can put it on “pause” if we want. But when you make that problem a primary feature of your conversation with God, then you have lost control of how to manage it.

Also, we talk to normal people about a lot of dumb stuff. We can “shoot the breeze” with friends and then walk away and forget that it happened. It makes no difference for them or you. But you cannot talk to God about “dumb stuff,” and prayer is certainly not “shooting the breeze.” We are not accustomed to the exposure of deep-level communication with the divine.

In Colossians 4:2, Paul says, "Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving.” Do it; take it seriously; and be happy about it. It’s important. Note that Paul goes on to say, “conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders,” that is, those outside the faith. As I understand this passage, you do not have a lick of hope of having wisdom with outsiders apart from prayer, that is, without that deeper level of communication with the One who is known as Wisdom.

Paul then goes on to say, “Let your speech be always seasoned with grace,” which again, is impossible without prayer. The summary here would be that you can do nothing good without prayer, because you can do nothing good without divine direction. And yet, we find ourselves failing to submit to this practice and discipline.

Tim Keller has written a great book on prayer that makes the following point: “To fail to pray, then, is not to merely break some religious rule—it is a failure to treat God as God. It is a sin against His glory. ‘Far be it from me,’ said the prophet Samuel to his people, ‘that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you (1 Sam 12:23).’”

I think that is a great point that brings us back to where we started. Why is prayer such a problem? We confess that we can do no good thing without it, and yet we stubbornly refrain from its practice. Why? Because we do not want God to be God of our personal business. We don’t want to hand Him the keys to our castle. We want to choose our own options and say yes to our own solutions. But these will not be solved from out of the resources ofsin-clouded hearts and minds that serve as the operating systems of our own selves. We need help from above. So we understand that we should bow before Him. But we would rather than others bow to us. And we understand that we should confess to Him plainly and honestly our failings and our prejudices. But we would rather focus on the failings of others. And we understand that we must be willing to wait for God’s direction. But we want an instant answer. And we understand that God may require some instant action or correction on our part. But we would rather put that part off.

You see, there really is not a problem with prayer. The problem is with me.