WEBVTT - How to Overcome the Challenges of Prayer 0:00:02.720 --> 0:00:03.560 Life Audio. 0:00:05.640 --> 0:00:08.000 Teach Us to Praise brought to you by Life Audio 0:00:08.360 --> 0:00:11.880 and is a part of our Faith Toolkit series. For 0:00:12.000 --> 0:00:20.640 more inspirational faith affirming podcasts, visit lifeaudio dot com. 0:00:21.079 --> 0:00:26.960 Sometimes prayer can be easy and comforting. Other times prayer 0:00:27.080 --> 0:00:27.920 can feel like. 0:00:27.960 --> 0:00:30.520 Talking to a brick wall. 0:00:31.160 --> 0:00:34.880 Why is it that sometimes it's easier to pray than others. 0:00:35.320 --> 0:00:38.720 I'm going to be answering that question in today's episode 0:00:38.800 --> 0:00:42.919 and how to overcome the challenges that make praying so 0:00:43.320 --> 0:00:44.360 hard sometimes. 0:00:44.720 --> 0:00:55.560 Stay tuned, Welcome back, friend. 0:00:55.800 --> 0:00:58.160 You are listening to the Teacher Us to Pray podcast, 0:00:58.440 --> 0:01:01.760 where we teach believers practical and real life tips on 0:01:01.840 --> 0:01:03.840 how to grow your faith and relationship with. 0:01:03.800 --> 0:01:05.760 God through the power of prayer. 0:01:06.000 --> 0:01:08.600 I'm Christina Patterson, host of the Teach Just to Prayer 0:01:08.600 --> 0:01:11.600 podcast and founder of Beloved Women, where I have the 0:01:11.680 --> 0:01:15.039 honor to encourage, equip and empower women all over the 0:01:15.040 --> 0:01:17.920 world in the love of Jesus Christ and the. 0:01:17.840 --> 0:01:19.080 Truth of God's Word. 0:01:19.800 --> 0:01:23.200 Sometimes I will have these seasons where I just thoroughly 0:01:23.920 --> 0:01:27.959 enjoy praying, and honestly, this is most of the time 0:01:28.040 --> 0:01:30.959 because it is the one time during the day where 0:01:31.000 --> 0:01:34.119 I can just cast my cares on God and know 0:01:34.680 --> 0:01:36.039 that he hears me. 0:01:36.360 --> 0:01:39.839 I'm reminded that I'm not alone. 0:01:39.920 --> 0:01:43.759 And it's then that prayer brings much comfort and healing 0:01:43.959 --> 0:01:49.400 and restoration to my soul, which is much of the 0:01:49.440 --> 0:01:53.320 purpose of prayer for us to connect with God, to 0:01:53.480 --> 0:01:59.200 refill our souls with Him. But if I'm honest with you, 0:01:59.680 --> 0:02:03.640 there are times where prayer isn't that easy, where it 0:02:03.720 --> 0:02:09.079 feels like a real struggle. It can cause me anxiety 0:02:09.200 --> 0:02:12.480 sometimes when I go through these seasons and I just 0:02:12.560 --> 0:02:15.040 don't feel like God's there, or I don't feel like 0:02:15.080 --> 0:02:19.520 I'm praying right and it just doesn't feel the same. 0:02:20.440 --> 0:02:23.959 I wonder if you've ever experienced that before, or maybe 0:02:24.000 --> 0:02:28.800 you're experiencing that right now in your own prayer life. 0:02:29.360 --> 0:02:33.040 Prayer is such a gift for believers to connect with 0:02:33.160 --> 0:02:37.640 the God of the universe, the God that created us. 0:02:38.320 --> 0:02:39.280 However, I have. 0:02:39.360 --> 0:02:43.760 Experienced firsthand that prayer isn't always easy, and so I 0:02:43.840 --> 0:02:46.400 want to chat with you about a few reasons why 0:02:46.480 --> 0:02:50.360 you may be finding prayer to be particularly hard in 0:02:50.400 --> 0:02:56.399 this season of your life, and how to overcome those challenges. First, 0:02:56.720 --> 0:03:01.840 we have to understand that prayer is a practice and 0:03:01.880 --> 0:03:05.680 This is why it's not always easy to do. It's 0:03:05.720 --> 0:03:09.800 something that has to be learned. We aren't just born 0:03:10.040 --> 0:03:14.400 with this innate gift to pray, not most of us, 0:03:14.639 --> 0:03:17.680 not me at least, and so it's something. 0:03:17.440 --> 0:03:19.560 That we have to get used to doing. 0:03:20.080 --> 0:03:22.160 If you are new to the faith or you are 0:03:22.280 --> 0:03:25.919 new to the practice of prayer, it's not gonna always 0:03:25.960 --> 0:03:30.080 be smooth, especially when you are just getting started. And 0:03:30.120 --> 0:03:32.679 if you think about it, that goes for any practice 0:03:32.680 --> 0:03:35.120 that you try to learn or implement in your life. 0:03:35.440 --> 0:03:38.600 If you're just learning how to play basketball, you're not 0:03:38.720 --> 0:03:42.120 gonna automatically know how to dribble. You're gonna need someone 0:03:42.200 --> 0:03:44.040 to teach you how to do it. And then guess 0:03:44.080 --> 0:03:46.680 what you're gonna have to do. You are going to 0:03:46.840 --> 0:03:48.240 have to practice. 0:03:48.640 --> 0:03:49.240 I love that. 0:03:49.280 --> 0:03:51.920 In the Book of Philippians, the apostle Paul tells the 0:03:52.040 --> 0:03:54.840 church in Philippi to instead of worrying. 0:03:54.720 --> 0:03:55.200 To pray. 0:03:55.920 --> 0:03:58.960 He tells him to pray about everything. But then at 0:03:58.960 --> 0:04:01.640 the end of his letter, know what he says. He says, 0:04:02.000 --> 0:04:05.840 put these things into practice. What that means is he 0:04:05.880 --> 0:04:10.040 didn't expect them to get everything right off of the 0:04:10.080 --> 0:04:13.520 first try. He's saying I just want you to keep 0:04:13.560 --> 0:04:18.400 trying and keep practicing, because that is how you get better. 0:04:18.760 --> 0:04:22.000 So sometimes prayer is challenging just because we don't do it. 0:04:22.040 --> 0:04:25.640 Often it's challenging because we're just getting started, and I 0:04:25.800 --> 0:04:29.839 know that that can be so frustrating. I deal with 0:04:29.880 --> 0:04:33.040 this with my kids oftentimes, whenever they are learning something new, 0:04:33.279 --> 0:04:35.800 they just want to be experts at it from the 0:04:35.839 --> 0:04:39.200 get go. They want to automatically know how to do 0:04:39.240 --> 0:04:43.480 something well. And I find myself constantly reminding them, listen, 0:04:44.160 --> 0:04:47.679 you're just learning this. You're gonna make mistakes. It's gonna 0:04:47.680 --> 0:04:50.400 be challenging if there are gonna be some bumps in 0:04:50.480 --> 0:04:52.960 the road, and that's how this is supposed to go, 0:04:53.400 --> 0:04:56.160 so that you can learn from those mistakes so that 0:04:56.200 --> 0:05:00.799 you can then get better. Your prayer life with God 0:05:00.960 --> 0:05:06.159 is going to be similar. It's going to take practice. 0:05:06.440 --> 0:05:09.680 It takes practice to know how to pray and what 0:05:09.760 --> 0:05:12.400 things that you feel comfortable saying and what things you 0:05:12.440 --> 0:05:16.160 can say. And it takes practice to also hear from 0:05:16.160 --> 0:05:20.839 God and know that He hears you when you pray. 0:05:21.160 --> 0:05:24.320 That's one of the reasons why we have this entire podcast. 0:05:24.360 --> 0:05:26.320 If you are new to the podcast, I want to 0:05:26.400 --> 0:05:29.880 encourage you to go back and listen to some previous episodes, 0:05:29.920 --> 0:05:32.760 because we have some great episodes where we teach you 0:05:33.160 --> 0:05:36.280 not only how to pray, but different prayer practice, how 0:05:36.279 --> 0:05:38.960 to hear from God, and all of these things that 0:05:39.040 --> 0:05:44.760 you can implement as you put into practice prayer. The 0:05:44.800 --> 0:05:48.440 second challenge that we often face when it comes to 0:05:49.080 --> 0:05:51.480 praying and why we feel like prayer can be such 0:05:51.520 --> 0:05:55.159 a struggle and so hard sometimes is that we don't 0:05:55.320 --> 0:05:56.440 like silence. 0:05:57.120 --> 0:05:57.600 That's right. 0:05:57.839 --> 0:06:01.799 I know that I've said many times on this podcast 0:06:01.800 --> 0:06:04.480 that prayer is our conversation. 0:06:03.880 --> 0:06:08.160 With God, and it very much is. Now. 0:06:08.200 --> 0:06:10.560 When we think of conversation, we think of one person 0:06:10.600 --> 0:06:13.000 talking and then another person talking, and it is this 0:06:13.160 --> 0:06:17.960 continuous flow of back and forth conversation. Even if you 0:06:18.000 --> 0:06:20.880 think about it, when you're talking to someone and then 0:06:20.920 --> 0:06:23.920 there's a moment of silence where neither of you has 0:06:23.960 --> 0:06:27.159 anything to say, it can feel kind of awkward, can it. 0:06:27.960 --> 0:06:32.320 Sometimes we feel that same awkwardness in our prayer life 0:06:32.360 --> 0:06:35.960 with God when it feels like things are silent, and honestly, 0:06:36.400 --> 0:06:40.320 it might just be a natural pause in the conversation 0:06:40.760 --> 0:06:44.039 to hold the moment, to remember the last thing that 0:06:44.279 --> 0:06:48.120 he spoke to you again. I have another episode, it's 0:06:48.200 --> 0:06:51.920 episode thirty six to be exact, that teaches you how 0:06:51.960 --> 0:06:56.200 to pray when you feel like God is silent, because 0:06:56.680 --> 0:07:00.279 it is natural to feel that way sometimes and to 0:07:00.520 --> 0:07:04.200 understand that that doesn't mean that God's not there. It 0:07:04.200 --> 0:07:07.440 doesn't mean that he doesn't hear you. So it's a 0:07:07.640 --> 0:07:11.239 natural thing for God to sometimes feel silent or actually 0:07:11.320 --> 0:07:16.160 be silent in our prayer lives. This is challenging for us, however, 0:07:16.240 --> 0:07:19.600 because we're not comfortable with silence. We let our minds 0:07:19.800 --> 0:07:23.040 run and we assume the worst when there're this moment 0:07:23.120 --> 0:07:26.040 of silence as something's bad, or God's mad at us, 0:07:26.120 --> 0:07:27.280 or and it's none of that. 0:07:27.720 --> 0:07:32.840 It's none of that. Sometimes many times we need that silence. 0:07:33.560 --> 0:07:38.000 In my interview with Patrice Burrell, she talked about practicing 0:07:38.400 --> 0:07:43.640 moments of silent prayer and this practice of sitting before 0:07:43.680 --> 0:07:48.080 the Lord in silence and not talking, not necessarily expecting 0:07:48.080 --> 0:07:54.120 to hear anything, but just truly embracing and enjoying his presence, 0:07:54.400 --> 0:08:00.760 because that is also a prayer practice, to just be still. 0:08:01.240 --> 0:08:06.400 We live in such a loud society. There is noise everywhere, 0:08:06.600 --> 0:08:09.240 and one thing that we don't often realize is that 0:08:09.280 --> 0:08:15.080 our souls desperately need moments of stillness and silence. And 0:08:15.160 --> 0:08:18.320 I believe that sometimes that's why when we come to 0:08:18.400 --> 0:08:21.440 God to pray, we don't hear anything. It's not because 0:08:21.480 --> 0:08:24.280 he's mad at us. It's because he's giving our souls 0:08:24.320 --> 0:08:29.800 something that our souls rarely receive, the beauty of resting 0:08:30.520 --> 0:08:44.600 in silence and solitude. There's something about being still and 0:08:44.920 --> 0:08:49.040 silence that fills our souls like nothing else. And I 0:08:49.080 --> 0:08:52.240 think that God calls us to those moments sometimes, but 0:08:52.320 --> 0:08:57.079 we become afraid, and so then we start talking and 0:08:57.760 --> 0:09:02.040 moving and making something up to do because we're uncomfortable. 0:09:02.400 --> 0:09:05.439 But we should really embrace those moments. Think about Psalm 0:09:05.520 --> 0:09:08.760 twenty three, where the psalmist says that the Lord leads 0:09:08.800 --> 0:09:15.120 him beside still waters to what to then restore his soul. 0:09:16.440 --> 0:09:21.000 Prayer is hard because sometimes it feels uncomfortable, but it's 0:09:21.040 --> 0:09:24.200 in those uncomfortable moments we need to rest in God's 0:09:24.240 --> 0:09:26.600 presence and know that He's just trying. 0:09:26.280 --> 0:09:28.160 To restore our souls. 0:09:29.400 --> 0:09:32.679 The third reason why sometimes prayer can be so challenging 0:09:33.160 --> 0:09:38.000 and hard is we might have some sin in our lives. 0:09:38.520 --> 0:09:42.200 And this is where prayer comes in really helpful, because 0:09:42.240 --> 0:09:46.000 then we can repent of that sin in our prayer life, 0:09:46.440 --> 0:09:50.720 we can turn from it and then approach the Lord 0:09:50.840 --> 0:09:55.760 with confidence. And I want to note here that repentance 0:09:56.160 --> 0:09:59.800 is a process, a gift that we have, not to 0:10:00.160 --> 0:10:03.400 demn us and make us to feel bad, but it 0:10:03.520 --> 0:10:08.000 is a freeing practice that we can participate in when 0:10:08.040 --> 0:10:10.880 we pray to God to release our sin to him, 0:10:11.200 --> 0:10:14.120 to confess our sin to him so that we can 0:10:14.200 --> 0:10:18.280 receive his forgiveness, so that we can then come to 0:10:18.360 --> 0:10:22.320 Him confidently. This is the entire reason why Jesus died 0:10:22.360 --> 0:10:24.720 on the cross for our sins, not for us to 0:10:24.800 --> 0:10:27.880 sit back and just feel bad about all the wrong 0:10:27.920 --> 0:10:29.920 that we've done and feel like we can't come to God. 0:10:30.240 --> 0:10:34.599 Jesus died so that we could come to God. 0:10:35.080 --> 0:10:39.920 If there is sin in your life, that is what 0:10:40.080 --> 0:10:44.320 Jesus came to save you from. It does not have 0:10:44.440 --> 0:10:48.600 to separate you from God anymore if we would have 0:10:48.800 --> 0:10:54.080 hearts to come to God in prayer and repentance and 0:10:54.200 --> 0:10:58.920 let him turn our lives around. The next reason why 0:10:58.960 --> 0:11:02.800 prayer can be so hard sometimes is because the enemy 0:11:03.200 --> 0:11:09.720 will strategically attack us in our prayer lives. He does 0:11:09.760 --> 0:11:13.640 this because he knows that prayer is the way that 0:11:13.720 --> 0:11:17.480 we can defeat him. It is a spiritual practice that 0:11:17.600 --> 0:11:21.839 gives us spiritual victory. Ephesian six tells us that our 0:11:21.960 --> 0:11:25.680 battle isn't against flesh and blood. It's a very much 0:11:25.679 --> 0:11:28.360 a spiritual battle that we're all in. And guess what 0:11:28.440 --> 0:11:32.679 prayer is. It's spiritual. It is a spiritual weapon that 0:11:32.720 --> 0:11:35.640 the Lord has given us. So one thing that the 0:11:35.760 --> 0:11:38.280 enemy is going to do to us is attack us 0:11:38.320 --> 0:11:41.480 in our prayer lives. Whenever you think of any kind 0:11:41.480 --> 0:11:45.400 of battle between two enemies, one thing that your enemy 0:11:45.440 --> 0:11:47.400 is going to want to do is cut lines of 0:11:47.400 --> 0:11:52.439 communication with your allies, because then you can call for help. 0:11:53.360 --> 0:11:56.040 The enemy of our souls thinks very much like this. 0:11:56.520 --> 0:11:59.880 If he can stop us from praying, he can cut 0:12:00.120 --> 0:12:04.440 off the source of our victory against him. Maybe he's 0:12:04.480 --> 0:12:08.560 attacking you with distracting thoughts. Maybe you feel anxious when 0:12:08.559 --> 0:12:11.640 you start to pray. Maybe you start thinking about past 0:12:11.720 --> 0:12:14.000 mistakes and all these bad thoughts come into your mind, 0:12:14.080 --> 0:12:17.200 or you just can't focus, or you keep falling asleep. 0:12:17.720 --> 0:12:19.600 Whatever it is, whatever tactic. 0:12:19.280 --> 0:12:22.240 The enemy is using this stop you from praying. I 0:12:22.280 --> 0:12:24.680 want you to pray about that too. When you start 0:12:24.720 --> 0:12:27.800 to pray, say Lord, I feel like I'm under attack. 0:12:28.200 --> 0:12:31.120 Please clear my mind so that I can connect with 0:12:31.200 --> 0:12:33.200 you in this moment. 0:12:34.040 --> 0:12:35.560 Pray about your prayer. 0:12:35.600 --> 0:12:38.600 The Bible tells us to pray about everything, so we 0:12:38.880 --> 0:12:44.040 should pray about anything, even when it comes to how 0:12:44.240 --> 0:12:45.440 we pray to God. 0:12:45.480 --> 0:12:47.920 That we need help even in our prayers. 0:12:48.240 --> 0:12:50.440 Please believe this is something that God desperately wants to 0:12:50.440 --> 0:12:53.000 help us with. He wants us to pray to him. 0:12:53.320 --> 0:12:55.240 He's opened the door for us to pray to him, 0:12:55.240 --> 0:12:58.280 so He's surely going to help us in this area 0:12:58.360 --> 0:13:01.360 as well, so that we can be victoria in all 0:13:01.600 --> 0:13:07.440 areas of our lives. Did you know that God made 0:13:07.520 --> 0:13:10.360 us all beautifully different, even in the way that we pray. 0:13:10.559 --> 0:13:11.040 That's right. 0:13:11.320 --> 0:13:14.439 Your prayer personality is the unique way you are most 0:13:14.559 --> 0:13:17.400 likely to communicate with God, and knowing which of the 0:13:17.440 --> 0:13:20.800 three prayer personality types you have can equip you to 0:13:20.880 --> 0:13:24.280 hear from God more clearly and overcome any obstacles to 0:13:24.360 --> 0:13:26.960 your communication with Him. I invite you to take my 0:13:27.040 --> 0:13:30.400 prayer personality quiz to learn how you best hear from God, 0:13:30.720 --> 0:13:33.080 how you most likely connect with Him in prayer, and 0:13:33.200 --> 0:13:35.319 just to have a little fun, take the quiz now 0:13:35.400 --> 0:13:37.839 at prayquiz dot com or find the link in the 0:13:37.880 --> 0:13:38.679 show notes. 0:13:38.440 --> 0:13:39.439 For today's show. 0:13:39.960 --> 0:13:42.520 It is my hope that today's episode has provided you 0:13:42.600 --> 0:13:46.280 with insightful and helpful tips on how you can pray. 0:13:46.640 --> 0:13:48.200 We have so much more to talk about when it 0:13:48.200 --> 0:13:49.319 comes to prayer. 0:13:49.040 --> 0:13:52.359 So I hope that if you were encouraged by today's episode, 0:13:52.480 --> 0:13:54.679 you will share it with a friend and subscribe so 0:13:54.720 --> 0:13:57.040 you don't miss any future episodes of the Teach Us 0:13:57.040 --> 0:13:59.640 to Pray podcast, where we will continue to learn how 0:13:59.760 --> 0:14:03.200 just breathing prayer can become a natural, consistent, and life 0:14:03.280 --> 0:14:06.240 giving part of our everyday lives. Until then, be sure 0:14:06.280 --> 0:14:09.200 to connect with me at Belovedwomen dot org and join 0:14:09.280 --> 0:14:12.520 me on the Beloved Women at for unlimited videos to 0:14:12.559 --> 0:14:15.400 grow your faith, learn God's word, and encourage your soul. 0:14:15.480 --> 0:14:18.200 Available now in the Apple and Google play stores or 0:14:18.280 --> 0:14:21.360 at Beloved Women dot tv. Thank you so much for 0:14:21.400 --> 0:14:23.640 taking time to listen today. God bless you and I'll 0:14:23.640 --> 0:14:28.920 talk to you in the next episode. Teach Us to 0:14:28.960 --> 0:14:32.080 Pray is a production of Life audio and Salem Media. 0:14:32.640 --> 0:14:34.880 If you like what you heard today, please take a 0:14:34.920 --> 0:14:38.000 second to rate and review this podcast in your favorite 0:14:38.040 --> 0:14:41.240 podcast staff so that more listeners like you can find 0:14:41.240 --> 0:14:45.800 the show. For more faith filled, inspirational podcasts, visit us 0:14:45.880 --> 0:14:52.240 at lifeaudio dot com.