Three things that prevent us from praying bold prayers

On Sunday, I shared three reasons why many of us struggle to pray boldly.

This list isn't exhaustive but may help you identify some excuses and challenge you to pray more. 

1) Because you are too busy. 

Our prayerlessness is a form of functional atheism. If we really believed God heard us and that He changed things based on our prayer life, We'd pray more seriously. We'd wake up a few minutes earlier and turn off the radio for a few minutes in our commute. 

One of our elders said something a couple of months ago that has stuck with me, "I'm learning that we can make time for anything. but we can only make time for so many things." God is not impressed by our busyness. He doesn't need it or want it. He wants us. He is waiting to pour Himself out to those who seek Him and ask. 

2) Because you are afraid God might not answer. 

If you are absolutely honest, I think for many, you are more afraid of God not answering your prayer than praying it at all. This could be because you struggle to think of one true prayer that has been answered in your life. Maybe you've heard cool stories of prayers being answered for other people, but you think, "Those sound like really convenient coincidences, and that isn't going to happen for me." Prayer leads us into deeper faith and is the mechanism for God's work in our lives and the World. Of course, God can and will do whatever He wants to do. But He has also chosen to change things through the prayers of His people. 

3) Because you can't think of anything that you really need God to do.  

This may be the most terrifying place to be. So much of our lives revolve around entertainment and worthless trinkets. Jesus said in Matthew 6:19-21 — "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal,  but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

I think many of you want to see God do a great work. Which starts with creating some spiritual margin, spending time in His presence, and recognizing our true need for Him—no matter how healthy we are or how much stuff we have. Our generation simultaneously does more than any generation in the history of the World while also doing less than any generation in the history of the World. 

God wants to work, and God will work. He's inviting you into His work through prayer. Set aside the excuses and pray. 

-Chris