Out Of The Box-Not Thirsty

There was a lie that I believed for a long time about prayer. I would think, “I don’t feel like praying today” or “I don’t need to pray today”. And I have gotten into some serious spiritual dryness every time I have listened to this lie.

Now, please don’t misunderstand – I’m not saying that I set aside time with the Lord 365 days a year. (Jesus, if I have even a whiff of legalism, come and throw this blog over the cliff with those swine). I understand that there are times when we absolutely cannot get away to be alone with the Lord. Times of exhaustion, illness, and having a newborn are times when I have offered up my weary heart to Him and trusted in His faithfulness alone. I’m not talking about those times.

No, I’m referring to the times when I feel particularly self-important, buried in my self-imposed busyness–those were the times I was listening to that lie. “Don’t need to…don’t feel like it.”

What do I do when I don’t want to pray? What can I do when I am not thirsty for Him?

THE FIRST THING I DO IS PRAY FOR A DESIRE TO PRAY. That may sound weird, but it’s what I do. I have to say out loud, “Lord, give me a desire to pray. Give me a sense of what life looks like when I try to do it without Your leading and Your Word. God, I’m not hungry for You right now—make me hungry for You. Please, God, give me a passion to be with You.”

The thing is, God WANTS to answer that prayer. I used to think faith was about seeing my situation changed, but the longer I walk with Jesus, the more I realize faith is about trusting who He is in every situation. So I can pray for a hunger for Him, and He will answer. And my faith increases as I become more aware of His Presence.

THE SECOND THING I DO WHEN I DON’T WANT TO PRAY IS THAT I SPEND TIME WITH THE LORD ANYWAY. I make myself available to Him. I put Him first even when I don’t want to. Because, the truth is, there are days when my prayer time is not effective, my walk with Him is dry, and I feel discouraged. But as I have developed consistency in spending time with Him, those times are not as frequent. So the question is no longer “Will I pray today?” but rather “Why don’t I want to pray today, Lord? I’m still showing up this morning to talk to you. So can we talk about this? Show me my heart, Holy Spirit.”

Lord, I want to be a “tree planted by streams of water (Ps. 1)”. Lord, give me the wisdom to plant myself by You, Jesus, the Living Water. I ask for eyes to see life and death in how I order my days.