GLP Playbook: Why Is Prayer Not Trending?

Why Is Prayer Neglected?
Recently a client shared a paraphrase of this gem about prayer:

I don't often spend more than half an hour in prayer - but I never go more than half an hour without praying #prayer #Wigglesworth

— Wigglesworth Quotes (@S_Wigglesworth1) May 14, 2014

I immediately heard this as the kind, merciful invitation of the Holy Spirit to a deeper, more meaningful and fruitful life of prayer. I must confess that I find it unsurprisingly easy to fall away from a life of effectual, fervent prayer. When we lose focus in this area of spiritual development, we leave the door open for the busyness of life to preoccupy us and crowd out the believer's main business of relationally connecting with God through prayer.

I know for many of us it is a genuine struggle to find the proper balance between work and life. And because we look at the mountain of things to do and the scarcity of time and resources in which to do them, we tend to dive into work mode - because it all depends on "me" - and neglect let the most important aspects of our living, which is having a healthy relationship with the Lifegiver and with our family.

Work, as valuable and important as it is, requires a conditional commitment of time and labor that we can control to a greater or lesser degree. Life requires a larger and unconditional commitment of our whole selves, which dictates that we, in a sense, must yield control over our lives to Someone and something that's greater than us. Please prayerfully ponder this before hastening on to the next paragraph.

The Value of Being Still

On one occasion, Jesus was invited by Martha to come and break bread with her and her family. "Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus' feet and heard his word. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, 'Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.' And Jesus answered and said to her, 'Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.'" Luke 10:38-42. Jesus valued relationship above labor. Which is to say, Martha's labor was good, but Jesus required her to be with Him, be present with Him. That is not putting down what Martha was doing, but putting it in perspective in the larger picture: never should labor get in the way of relationship. The first couple, Adam and Eve, were so preoccupied with their labors that Adam lost track of Eve long enough for her to become distracted and to meander by the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the middle of the garden, and they soon lost themselves in the garden. We do more or less the same when we lose sight of our relationship with God and get lost in a forest of preoccupation with ourselves and our self-directed search for meaning.

Answering the Call to Spiritual Rest

But thanks be to God through Jesus Christ, Jesus faithfully calls us to rest from our own labors and to sit at Jesus' feet, to learn from Him and have our careworn spirits revived and renewed. The human spirit needs rest. Not merely physical rest, but rest for our spirits. Connection with God through prayer is an important part of that spiritual rest, for by prayer we connect with God by sharing our burdens, our joys, our cares and our fears. We call out to Him in worship, in adoration and humble dependence, realizing that He is the Vine, and we are the branches, and we can accomplish nothing without Him. When we connect with God relationally, through prayer and listening to his word, we grow in faith and in trust and we learn to place our heavy burdens on the only One Who can help us. Then we are cooperating with God and not depending on ourselves. "Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." "I can do all things through Christ Who gives me strength." Matthew 11:28-30; Philippians 4:13. Prayer takes it out of our hands and puts it in God's hands.

Keeping it in Perspective

To be clear, prayer is not a substitute for the labor that we must do. Rather, when we pray first, we receive divine grace and favor to help us in our labor and keep the labor in proper balance with seeking relationship with God first.