A common complaint I hear from people and also experience myself is that of the struggle to pray. Many are those who are frustrated because they feel prayer is essential, but have so little desire to pray or that they do not know how or what to pray. Many factors contribute to our penchant toward avoidance of prayer, but when we struggle in these ways, prayer becomes burdensome rather than desired and freeing. My hope in this and the next blog is to provide thoughts that give new direction and hope in our praying. My prayer is that these musings will prompt in you a deeper desire and freedom to commune with our Lord.
Two passages came to my mind as I considered the issue of struggling with prayer. Neither of these passages pertains to prayer per se, but both give insight into both our struggle with prayer and what can be done about it. The first is Hebrews 12:1-2.
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:1-2)
There are several truths that emerge from this text that are helpful to me.
- The witnesses that surround us are those from Hebrews 11. Who are these people and why is their surrounding witness of such importance that the writer of Hebrews uses their witness as a reason that we should press forward into the race set before us? They are men and women of faith. Though some had lives marked with success, others found life to be marked with suffering. Why are they important to us when thinking about prayer? They witness that there is something that drove their faith regardless of circumstances. They had a view of something far greater than what their eyes naturally saw. They possessed vision that propelled them forward, even if that meant physical pain and even death. They help us by showing us to look beyond our natural desires and fears, believing the promises of God, and seeking Him who is worthy of their attention. They teach us to see what we don’t naturally see or even want to see.
- There is a race that must be run that is set before us. What is that race? Is it Christian self-improvement? Is it a better version of my old self? Or is it living a life of slavish service to Christ, regardless of what I would otherwise want? Or could it be living under the guilt of sin and always trying to do better so that I can feel better? Or is it something else? I believe it is none of these things, but rather it is to be like Christ, who with joy endured pain and shame, purchasing our salvation, because it pleased His Father, at whose right hand He is now seated. Being like Christ means that everything about me has changed — not just my actions, but my thoughts, affections, and desires. My hope becomes not just in Him (what He can do for me) but just Him (who is He). What I value is what He values. I worship Him, because my trust is in Him.
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The race to be like Christ is just that—a progressive, day by day, moment by moment run toward a goal to be like Him, and to love Him, trust Him, and obey Him. How is that done? Like the great witnesses surrounding us, it has everything to do with vision. What are we looking at? Beholding? Where are our eyes fixed? As the text of verse two says, we are to fix our eyes on Jesus, who authored our faith and perfected it. Remember the witnesses were people of faith. Where did they get that faith? From faith’s Author—Jesus! And by faith they were able to see what they could not otherwise see—Jesus and His glory. Two verses from Hebrews 11 are helpful:
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (v.1)
And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. (v.6)
Two things from these verses should be noted: one, faith is an assurance that produces hope—that confident expectation of future, promised realities—and a conviction that things not seen with the physical eye are nonetheless real and thus to be believed. Second, that faith is necessary to please God, who is the object and reward of our faith. God is pleased when we believe Him—not just intellectually, but believe He is what our hearts crave for, but naturally seek elsewhere. Faith enables us to “see” Him as He is—glorious and of infinite beauty and delight. God rewards our faith, of which He is the author in Jesus, by giving us Himself. That’s the idea! And that’s the testimony of the witnesses of Hebrews 11.
- The weight of encumbrances and the entanglements of sin hinder us in our goal of running the race toward Jesus. What does this mean? It can mean many things, but certainly it means that sin blinds our eyes to the glory and desirability of Christ. It can mean we live with guilty consciences and fail to see Him as eager to forgive. We lose sight of the cross and the payment of our sins. It can mean that we unwittingly begin believing our sin is more desirable than the reward of relationship with Jesus. So we trudge on in our sin, unaware of the consequences to our soul, sometimes rationalizing and at other times in denial all-together. Worldly pleasure is blinding and ultimately brings a sense of meaninglessness. It can mean we blame God for our troubling circumstances. We get angry at Him and conclude He is uninterested in our plight (“if He really cared, my life would be going better”). In our wounded pride and angry spirits, we turn away from the Author of faith and live in unbelief. Whatever else it can mean, it certainly means that sin causes us to lose sight of the truly Valuable and Worthy—Jesus. It means we begin living in confusion, chaos, and spiritual deprivation. It means we become exhausted with life in its arduous demands. It means we don’t come to Jesus, who ever invites those who are weary and heavy laden. It means we determine to do things our own way.
- Looking to Jesus (or “fixing our eyes on Jesus”) is the last observation. Who is this Jesus? And how do we get our eyes on Him? He is the Author and Perfecter of our faith. He took the initiative. He bore the penalty of our sin that stood in the way of our believing Him and seeking Him. He provides what is necessary for us to see Him rightly—as the glorious One worthy of all honor, praise, and adoration. He provides the impetus that creates desire for Him. And He did so at a very high price to Himself—i.e., death on a tortuous cross. He endured it with joy before Him. He took on and yet lightly regarded the shame and humiliation that came through such an ignominious death. He is now seated next to His Father, with whom He has perfect and mutual delight, interceding for you and me (see Romans 8:34).
How do these truths help us in our struggle in prayer? They provide perspective, motivation, and content. Often our view of prayer is skewed into something that makes it a struggle. We live with little awareness with the operations of sin in our hearts, stealing our affections for Christ, blinding our eyes to His worth. We need clarity of vision. We get that clarity through looking at Jesus. Study Him, particularly in His death, burial, and resurrection. But don’t stop here. See him in the gospels. Listen to Paul in describing Him. Keep looking. Keep beholding. Keep gazing. For we ultimately become like what we behold. See Him rightly, and then call out to Him. Seek Him by the faith He has given you. Ask for more faith to see. Keep asking. Ask again. Don’t try to impress Him in prayer; He’s only pleased with your faith, which He lovingly and willingly grants you more. Read of the faith of the witnesses. Talk to the Lord about what you read of their witness. Ask Him for a longing to have their perspective, their desire. Ask Him to forgive you of sitting in unbelief, rationalizing sin, being angry at Him. He cares for you. He will not reject. Jesus has made sure of that. Guilty conscience? He knows. Tell him you want to feel alive in Him again, free of entanglements and entrapments. He is the only Way out. The gospel is all about how and why you pray. He gets glory and you get Him. Go to Him today . . . even now.
In part two, we will look at Colossians 3 as a text to learn to pray.