I Can’t Pray

Posted on March 18, 2015 by Graeme Wilson in Freedom Fighters

I can’t pray

As far back as I can remember my parents were teaching me the concept of prayer. To be thankful for what God had provided in my life and to rely on God for all my needs and bring those to Him. The exciting thing was, at a very early age, I saw God answer prayer and I knew it worked.

As I grew older into my teen years I was beginning to understand the reality of my sin. That these darker areas in my life were putting a wedge between me and my God and what did this bring? Shame. I knew God had forgiven my sin at the cross but I didn’t feel I deserved that love or forgiveness that he promised.

If after reading that second paragraph your seeing red flags, good, you should. Let’s continue.

What this mind set of “undeserving forgiveness” brought was a huge weight of shame and in turn, brought on a fear of praying to God. I felt that praying to God was selfish of me, “why would God want to hear from me?” I can’t keep from sinning. He hates me. I can’t pray.

Wait, wait, wait… press the breaks!

This mind set is nothing more then Satan using one of his most effective tricks, to convince us that our sins aren’t really forgiven. It’s says in Psalms “As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us” if we have entered into true fellowship with Him, God has not only forgiven our sin BUT has removed them completely. That is a promise from our Father we can never lose sight of.

Another promise is from John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” God has promised us that if we take our sin to Him in prayer, He is faithful to forgive them.

I’m not sure if I’m the only one out there that’s struggled with this but if you are going through this feeling of “undeserving forgiveness,” don’t lose heart. Those thoughts aren’t from God, but from the father of lies, Satan. We need to hold onto and continually remind ourselves of the promises God has laid out for us in His word.

He tells us that if we have entered into a personal relationship with Him, we are HIS children. That our Father has given us grace and mercy in infinite supply and that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. Our Abba Father wants to hear from us. He wants to be in fellowship with us through prayer and worship and we should always be mindful of His promises and to not let Satan spread his doubt and lies in our lives. Graeme Mark Wilson is Director of Marketing at America’s Keswick. You can email him at graemew@americaskeswick.org

Daily Bible Reading: Job 32-33;1 Corinthians 11:1-16

Think About This: Do not work so hard for Christ that you have no strength to pray, for prayer requires strength. J. Hudson Taylor

This Week’s Verse to Memorize: As for me, You uphold me in my integrity,
And set me before Your face forever. Psalm 41:12