Wednesdays with Grace

My friend Jonny, a pastor in Britain, loves to pray.  He loves to pray in the same way that I love to sit down in front of a good soccer game on TV.  When my conscience reminds me that Christians are supposed to pray, my instinctive response is, “Not now, maybe later.” I’ll probably never love to pray as much as Jonny does, but I have learned two principles that help me overcome my “not now” reflex.  If you have the same reflex, maybe these principles will help you.

1. Some prayer is better than none.

It takes less than a minute to pray the Lord’s Prayer.  Or maybe as long as 90 seconds, if we pray slowly so our hearts keep up with our lips. That shows God doesn’t require us to pray for a long time.  I’ve found I have the stamina to pray for a 20-minute stretch.  Not very impressive—but some prayer is better than none.  The prospect of a 20-minute stretch doesn’t put me off, because I know it’s doable.  If I faced the prospect of a longer stretch, my “not now” reflex would kick in.

2. Habit makes it happen.

After Solly was born, I got into a prayer slump. Beforehand, I’d had a solid habit—a set time for praying with a cup of strong tea before the day got rolling.  But Solly had other ideas for that chunk of time, and my habit was lost.  Without a set time for prayer, I was constantly saying to myself, “Not now, maybe later.”  I have to admit that for months I hardly prayed.  The experience showed me the power of habit: once a habit is in place, you just get on with what you always do. So I found a daily chunk of time that (thanks to Betsy running interference) would always be available.  By the grace of God, a habit was formed that made prayer happen again. 

Prayer isn’t just for the folks like Jonny who have a particular appetite for it.  It’s a rich privilege for all believers, including those of us who need strategies for overcoming our natural reluctance.

Bernard Howard