Prayer, Pride and Practical Atheism

I figured out last night why I have a problem "praying continuously." Prayerlessness is the natural result of either pride or lack of faith, usually both. You fail to pray, instinctively, because you are too proud to realize you need God or too unbelieving to grasp God’s willingness to help.

I’m prayerless because I’m full of pride and unbelief.

When the Gospel has cultivated humility and faith in you, you will obey that verse in 1 Thessalonians, "Pray continuously," instinctively.

Thanks to Kevin DeYoung for this thought.

Comments

[michael]

Yes, I think you've hit the nail on the head. Lack of faith is a huge part of this. And although faith involves knowing and trusting God's abilities, at its core faith is practiced.

Therefore, disobedience causes praying and a constant attitude of prayer to be much more difficult, if not impossible. For instance, 1 Peter 3:7 says that if a husband does not act lovingly and respectfully toward his wife he will find it difficult to pray. If you are finding it hard to pray, it is time to take a very critical look at what you've been doing.

[Jeff Fisher]

If I have periods of not thinking about God, is that prayerlessness or unfaithfulness or pride?

I'm not sure.

I think lack of faith and pride are certainly hinderances to our prayer life.

If we are putting God first in our lives and seeking to walk in His will, I'm not sure that means we have to pray all the time.

Am I disobedient to God if I don't have a constant attitude of prayer? Or am I just not there yet in my walk with God?

I would hate for someone to keep beating themselves up because they only had a prayerful attitude for 3 waking hours instead of 12.

Please elaborate on your struggle...

[Member]

Is having too much unbelief in God's willingness to help punishable? And, how can you just garner up belief when you don't have it?

[Todd]

Member,

It sort of depends on what you are praying for him to help you with. If you pray, "Help me to get a better job," then no one can say you "must" believe God is wiling to help. This is because no one knows if He even wants you to have a better job right now. You can still pray, but there is no way to know for sure what His will is there.

On the other hand, if the prayer is "Help me to become a more patient, kind person," then yes, it would be wrong to believe God will not help you do that. The Bible says God wants us all to have those qualities, and we are commanded to believe Him. Would it be "punishable" to disbelieve? Well, it could be. At the same time, He might choose not to punish you for it. God is very kind, compassionate, and merciful... more then we can even imagine. He understands our struggles because He Himself has been a weak person like we are.

As far as how to believe when you don't... just keep trying. Pray every day to God asking Him to help you to believe. On top of that, try to be obedient to what you know to be His commands. Belief is as much about what you do as it is about what you think. As you draw near to Him, you will find it difficult to *not* believe.

[Member]

Is it okay not to understand how God works? Does God hear prayers from people who aren't sure if they know Him or not? Is it wrong to feel like God is going to cause something bad to happen to you to make you realize who He is, does God do stuff like that?