The Weakness of Prayer (revised)

I wrote this post a few months ago. However I recently re-wrote it for the Onething website in the Source leadership network portion. I so enjoy writing for the website. Here is the revised post enjoy!!:

The Weakness of Prayer 

For nearly six years now, prayer has been my occupation. For 6-8 hours a day, 6 days a week, I’ve sat in that wonderful prayer room. Some days I’d sit there from the moment I’d wake up until the moment I’d go to bed. Some days I’d opt not show up at all. Prayer is my life’s very source, yet at times it can be the hardest task in creation.

Over the years, people have asked me, “Does it ever get easier?” My answer is simple: most definitely yes, and most definitely no. I know that if one is consistent in prayer, the enjoyment of prayer grows. However, prayer, at its essence, is about weakness. For the human frame, admitting weakness is—and until the Lord returns, will always be—an exhausting task. Prayer causes us to stop whatever job we are doing, whatever problem we’re trying to solve, or whatever independent life we’re trying to live to simply say, “Lord I need your help! I can’t do it on my own!” The reason why prayer brings us to this point is because we can’t do it on our own… ever. He never asked us to. Trying to live life without help from God is to frustrate the grace that Jesus paid for us with his blood (Galatians 2:21).

Jesus tells us how we should pray in Matthew 6:9-13. Not only does he show us how we should pray in words, but more importantly, he is showing us the heart posture necessary in prayer.

In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

—Matthew 6:9-13

In our “pull yourself up by the boot straps” culture that we live in, Jesus is asking us to be weak. Prayer is hard because every time we pray, we have to admit that we can’t pull ourselves up by our own boot straps. We have to admit that no matter how badly we like to think we are the sole providers for ourselves and family, it’s Him, not us, who gives us our daily bread. We have to admit that no matter how strong we think we’ve built up ourselves to withstand temptation, that it’s Him, not us, who keeps us from temptation.

In 2 Corinthians 12:9 the Lord reveals this to Paul: “And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore, most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” Prayer is the first step to boasting in our weakness. Prayer is an act of denouncing our own ability, and proclaiming God’s ability. For it’s not about our weakness being on display, it’s about his strength being seen. Over and over again, we face the mountains that lie between us and the things we are striving for in Him. However, those mountains are not ours to conquer. They are not ours to lay waste. That victory belongs to the only sovereign and wise God who is faithful to keep us strong until the end.

So if it’s as easy admitting we need his help, why then is it so hard to admit our weakness? The answer is the great travesty of shame. We are ashamed to admit that in all of our striving we’ve gained no actual ground in getting closer to God. We’re ashamed to admit that our efforts to be completely sinless have been futile. Which is where shame shows its true face; pride. The message of the Gospel is contrary to these. If we could strive to be righteous, or get close to God, then we wouldn’t have needed Jesus (see Ephesians 2:9).

Instead, we pray. No matter how worthless we feel, no matter how badly we’ve messed up, and no matter how hopeless the situation seems. The more we do this, the more we learn to lean on His strength; thus, His strength is becoming perfected in us. The more we learn to lean, the more we learn to love him. If we learn to love him, then prayer becomes much easier. First, though, we have to get over ourselves and admit our weakness. Once you do that, prayer will become the most enjoyable thing you’ll ever experience.