How to Pray When You Don’t Feel Like Praying

How’s your prayer life these days?

Maybe the current circumstances have driven you to pray more than ever before.

Or maybe your head feels foggy and your heart feels weary and you find yourself avoiding prayer because you just don’t feel up to it.

We know we should pray. We know prayer is good for us. But how do we pray when we don’t feel like praying?

Here are three things the Lord has been reminding me of as I find myself in the foggy head category in this current season of craziness.

Keep it Simple

Jesus was very clear with his disciples that he cares more about the posture of our hearts during prayer, than what words come out of our mouths. (Matthew 6:5-13)

Jesus rebuked those who prayed big, loud, fancy prayers for the sake of appearing holy and spiritual. Instead, he values a posture of humility and need over how the prayers sound. You might be a person who expresses herself best through fancy vocabulary – and that’s great! Use those words! But remember that those words aren’t necessary. And if all you can cobble together are simple phrases – then stutter and stumble over those words with full confidence that Jesus hears them loud and clear and they make perfect sense to him.

Lean on the Prayers of Others

When I can’t find the words to express my thoughts and feelings I find it very helpful to read the Psalms. Every emotion you could possibly feel is found in the Psalms. Anger, fear, anxiety, joy, hope, love, anguish, frustration, peace… all of them are there. So read those words and pray them back to the Lord and let those words speak on your behalf.

A few Psalms that have been especially helpful to me lately are Psalm 91, 42, and 27. I’ve been reading them over and over and just saying “amen”, “yes”, “that”, as my prayers.

Rest in Grace

Grace. We throw that word around so often. But what does it mean in this situation – where our prayers are broken, and fumbling, and hard to utter?

I have a six week old baby right now. She doesn’t do much, because she can’t do much. But she can cry. She can incompletely, brokenly, without fancy words, express her need for me. And I do everything else.

I pick her up. I wrap her. I hold her to my chest. I let her listen to my heart. I comfort her, protect her, and meet all her needs.

We are like tiny babies. All our Father wants of us is to utter our broken cries of need. He does the rest. That is His grace right now.

We can rest in His peace, because we are already in His peace through Christ. We can find comfort in His provision because He has given us all things through Christ.

He is not disappointed in you.

Read that again.

You don’t need to impress God.

You don’t need to have the right words, or even coherent thoughts.

Keep it simple, lean on the words of others, and rest in His grace. He is holding you tight. He delights in you. He is overjoyed with the thought of you. He died for you so that you never have to be away from his presence.

Just thank Jesus for that, and let it be your prayer today.

love, m