Why we don’t find the time to pray
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Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
Why we don’t find the time to pray.
Last week I listed a number of reasons we give for not praying. The first one is:
First reason: Not enough time
Obviously, there are all kinds of way to debunk this idea.
Therefore, I am not going to actually address the time issue because we all know we will make time for what is important to us. Besides, I don’t think the lack of time is the real issue any.
It’s what we say but it’s a subterfuge. Do you remember the list?
- Not enough time
- Feelings of inadequacy
- DON’T KNOW WHERE TO BEGIN
- FEEL UNWORTHY
- AFRAID OF INTIMACY WITH GOD
- TOO MANY PAST UNANSWERED PRAYERS
- GOD ALREADY KNOWS
- DON’T FEEL THE EMOTIONAL CONNECTION
- FEEL INTIMIDATED BY OTHERS
Therefore, I think the real issue is more internal. It’s our feelings. So we are going to look at our feelings of inadequacy first. I probably won’t even address the time constraints till the end of this series because honestly? our time constraints are fairly easy to address and are of least importance.
Secondly: Feelings of inadequacy
Anytime we face a challenge of any kind, we always feel inadequate in the beginning. Why we think it would be any different with prayer, I don’t know.
When I first started blogging, I felt totally inadequate and I was. When I faced a big white piece of paper I was supposed to paint on, I felt inadequate. In fact, I can’t think of any skill I’ve ever learned, that I didn’t have feelings of great inadequacy going when beginning it.
Even now when I pray I sometimes feel inadequate.
Why Do We Feel Inadequate?
But why do we feel so inadequate? And if we eliminate our feelings of inadequacy, will we then make more time?
However, I don’t think that’s necessarily true but I do think that we are more apt to make time for any endeavor that we feel we have even a modicum of a chance to succeed.
For example, after I started blogging, each time I sat down at the computer I felt a little more competent. After I put the brush to the paper the first time, the next time was easier. None of this is new to anyone. We all know it’s true.
Of course, sometimes, our feelings of inadequacy stem from the fact that we are talking about God, not some skill we want to learn.
I get that. And in a way, I think that’s a good place to begin.
Who God says we are
You see because God is God, He understands how we might feel inadequate approaching Him. Accordingly, that is why scripture is full of verses where God tells us to come Him. He knows how we feel.
But first, let’s look at who God says we are. This might help you feel more comfortable and less inadequate. It might help us understand why we don’t find the time to pray.
Psalms 139: 13-15
For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
How God is like a mother to us
Hosea 11:3-4
Hosea 11:3-4 God described as a mother
God: “Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk, I who took them up in my arms; but they did not know that I healed them, led them with cords of human kindness, with bands of love. I was to them like those who lift infants to their cheeks. I bent down to them and fed them.”
So, from these two verses, we can see how God values us. How He cares for us like a mother. Because, in God’s eyes, we are never so inadequate that we can’t come to Him.
Let’s not confuse our human feelings with God’s. The inadequacy of our feelings is overshadowed by God’s unfathomable desire for communication with us.
So for this week, concentrate on how God sees you as fearfully and wonderfully made. How He loves you as a mother loves her child.
God bless and have a good day.
