[Power of the Word] What Can Keep You From Prayer
Daniel Brady
“…praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,“
--Ephesians 6:18 (ESV)
My last entry was a bit technical, talking about the rules of English grammar and the confusion I had over how the NKJV words this verse. By the end, though, we discovered that Paul is telling us to be watchful to the end that we may continually pray in the Spirit.
And no wonder! Praying in the Spirit means in part, as we learned recently, praying for God’s will to be done in our lives. Certainly, when we ask God to do His will in our lives, this is a prayer He will never fail to answer.
However, the devil does not want God’s will to be accomplished in our lives. And he does not want us praying in the Spirit. Therefore, he will do whatever he can to keep us from praying in the Spirit.
Now, the tactics Satan has at his disposal are too many to count. The ways in which he implements his strategy will vary from one individual to another. Even within just your own life, the tactics he uses can vary depending on your circumstances. So I will not give any specific examples of what the devil may try to do to keep you from praying in the Spirit. Instead, I will offer a couple of things he may generally do in all of our lives.
First of all, if the devil can keep you from praying altogether, then he will certainly succeed in preventing you from praying in the Spirit. Now, there is a difference between just praying and praying in the Spirit, and I will make mention of that shortly. My point right now is the simple fact that if you simply aren’t praying, then you most certainly are not praying in the Spirit.
In what ways will the devil seek to keep you from praying? I think the first and most obvious thing he can use is just the busy-ness of life. Work. The kids. Dinner, and then the dishes and the laundry. Oh, and don’t forget tonight’s “American Idol.” You just don’t have time to pray. You’re too busy.
The other weapon Satan will use to keep you from praying is sin. He will use your sin in one of two ways to keep you from praying. First, if there is sin in your life that you don’t want to give up, you will have little or no desire to pray, because you know that God will push you to repent of that sin you don’t want to deal with. The other way in which the devil can use sin to keep you from praying is through a feeling of unworthiness. He will whisper in your ear, “Why should God listen to you? You have separated yourself from God. If you want God to hear your prayers, you have to get your life straight first. Until then, why even bother praying? You don’t deserve to pray and expect God to listen to you.”
These are just some of the ways Satan may attempt to keep you from praying. These are some of the things you need to watch out for. But like I said, the enemy will use whatever he thinks will succeed in keeping you from prayer. So whether it be the busy-ness of life, sin, or anything else, you need to watch out for anything that will keep you from praying.
Now, if Satan cannot succeed in preventing you from praying altogether, he will use some of these same things to keep you from praying in the Spirit. As I stated a moment ago, there is a difference between just praying (or, rather, praying in the flesh) and praying in the Spirit. Did you know you can pray in the flesh? It is possible. And I would venture to say that most of us pray in the flesh more often than not.
What does it mean to pray in the flesh? Well, certainly, if what you ask for is contrary to the will of God, you are praying in the flesh. However, it can also mean relying on your own strength in your attempt to pray as you ought. One indicator that you are praying in the flesh is doubt or uncertainty in your prayer. Particularly if you feel unworthy to pray because of sin in your life (even if you have confessed it); you may wonder, “Is God going to hear my prayer, or is He so angry with me that He will refuse to answer me?” There can be the feeling that you have to pray just the right way—to say just the right thing—in order for God to hear and answer.
If you have sin in your life, you do need to confess it and ask God’s forgiveness. I do not mean to diminish the seriousness of sin. However, in seeking God’s forgiveness, there are no spiritual hoops you have to jump through. The moment you confess it, He forgives it. And having been forgiven, you are free to pray confidently, knowing that God will hear and answer your prayers.
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