Even When It's Hard

Prayer is powerful. It’s a way to communicate and be in fellowship with God in a more direct way. Though, when things are challenging, sometimes hearing the worn-out phrases of “just pray about it” or “prayer works,” does the exact opposite. It drives you to frustration.

This is what I’ve personally experienced during a current stretch of job searching. I know prayer plays an important part in our relationship with God. Perhaps you have the same experience and know God is truly in control, and we’ve seen prayer work previously in our lives and in the lives of others.

We’ve seen God at work, but for some reason prayer is hard. Maybe this time, it’s simply different. Whether it’s an external or internal struggle, prayer can be especially challenging, and even intimidating. It can seem like an extra daunting step of healing or grieving when you haven’t prayed in a long time or you don’t know how to pray.

I like to think about it as talking with God. If I don’t know what to pray or how to get started, I find that looking at the Psalms and just reading aloud can get the conversation started. Why not speak God’s Word? It’s like an ice breaker that can soften hardened hearts and open closed lips into speaking truth to ourselves and speaking to a God who always holds us in our highs and heartbreaks.

We pray for healing from illness and addiction. We pray for protection when we travel. We pray for good grades, that the line in the restaurant is short or that special someone will even notice us, and everything in between. We can pray for big and small things, but sometimes the struggle challenges us for so long that we lose patience and give up on praying altogether. Regardless of how difficult our circumstances, we can’t give in to that temptation of stopping. Prayer doesn’t have to be a laundry list of demands of God. It doesn’t have to be a certain way, but it should still happen.

What happens when prayer is hard? We can give up or we can continue lifting our spirits to God. Sometimes it means it's time to pray even more. Paul reminds us in Romans in one of my favorite verses, “rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.” (Romans 12:12, English Standard Version) Regardless of the season, our constant should be prayer.

If you’re in a challenging situation and you’re having a hard time praying, I see you. It’s easy to be angry, disappointed and confused when praying doesn’t seem to work the way you want it to, but keep going. Praying and building that relationship with God will make the good times even better and make these hard times that much more fruitful. I encourage you to pray because it’s worth it for a healthy relationship with a God who loves you so much. God wants to hear from us and we should always strive to connect with Him, regardless of how we’re feeling.

Do you have any tips on how to get back into praying during a challenging season? Share in the comments or send us a message on social media — we’d love to hear how our community prays!

FaithStephanie HudakFebruary 21, 2020Comment