{"id":1727,"date":"2015-03-15T12:31:11","date_gmt":"2015-03-15T18:31:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.theawakenministry.com\/?p=1727"},"modified":"2015-03-16T06:57:30","modified_gmt":"2015-03-16T12:57:30","slug":"3-reasons-why-we-avoid-prayer-and-what-we-can-do-about-it-pt-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theawakenministry.com\/?p=1727","title":{"rendered":"3 Reasons Why We Avoid Prayer (And What We Can Do About It) pt. 3"},"content":{"rendered":"

The last two weeks I shared part 1<\/a> and part 2<\/a> of my blog post series on prayer. \u00a0This week, I want to share with you the third reason why we avoid prayer.<\/strong><\/em><\/h3>\n

\"3<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

Have you ever noticed that a person who listens is actually more interesting than a person who talks?<\/strong><\/h1>\n<\/blockquote>\n

It sounds crazy, but the one who listens is always more interesting. \u00a0 When people get together we usually get this backwards. \u00a0As a result, most conversations are built around a wrestling match of words. \u00a0When we talk to others, we are really vying for who\u2019s story is more interesting, or who has the better wisdom, or who can make others laugh most.\u00a0 Almost before the last word has a chance to form on our tongues, the other person starts speaking.<\/p>\n

I confess that I engage in this wrestling match of words with my wife when she shares her heart over her concern for our kids, or her teaching career, or her friends.\u00a0 Instead of stopping to ask more questions, I insert my words thinking that by them I can solve her problems, make her feel better, or just give her some needed encouragement.\u00a0 But when I engage in this wrestling match of words with my wife before I have had a chance to let her words penetrate my soul to process what she is really saying, my words become as worthless as a wooden nickel.<\/p>\n

There is a reason why I don\u2019t listen.\u00a0 I don\u2019t like the reason, but I must confess that the reason I don\u2019t listen is that I think my words are more important than hers. ( I would never tell her this directly of course, so please don\u2019t tell my wife I said this.) \u00a0Yet, I secretly believe that if she would just listen to me, life would be better for her. \u00a0That\u2019s about as arrogant as it gets isn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n

Well, here\u2019s more bad news: I think this wrestling match happens in our prayer life as well.<\/p>\n

HERE IS THE Third\u00a0OF\u00a0THREE REASONS WHY WE AVOID PRAYER:<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\n

I think we avoid prayer because we believe that our words are more important than God’s word.<\/strong><\/h1>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The reason why we tend to avoid praying to God is that we are much more interested in what we have to say than in what God has to say to us.\u00a0 We might functionally pray for our food, pray for others, and pray for our day, but the \u201chow\u201d is pretty important too.\u00a0 In our prayers, are we spending the time telling God what to do, or are we actively listening for what God wants to do in us?<\/p>\n

I think we avoid prayer because we believe that our words are more important than God's word. -Scott Vermillion <\/a><\/span>Share on X<\/a><\/span><\/h1>\n

Those of you who are pastors or ministry leaders would never publicly say that our words are more important than God\u2019s word, so here\u2019s a test to see what you really believe:\u00a0 When is the last time you prayed where you spent more time listening to God rather than speaking to him?\u00a0 Or when is the last time you carved out at least 5 uninterrupted minutes in your weekend services just to give the congregation a chance to listen to God in prayer?\u00a0 What could be more important than God\u2019s word of life spoken into us in\u00a0our silence? \u00a0(Certainly not that potluck announcement encouraging people to bring food to\u00a0church next week.) \u00a0If you don\u2019t make room for God\u2019s word to have priority\u00a0over your words, then you are avoiding true prayer.\u00a0 Instead, you are engaging in a wrestling match of words with God.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been convicted recently that more of my time in prayer is spent telling God what I want to happen, instead of making room in my life for what God wants to happen in me. \u00a0Instead, I have been learning that prayer\u00a0is about creating a sacred space in my\u00a0life where I\u00a0can gain the courage not only to listen to God\u2019s word, but follow it as well.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The hard truth is that because many\u00a0spiritual leaders are encouraged for their use of words spoken to\u00a0others, they are the most prone to believing that their words are more important than God’s word.<\/p>\n

HERE IS WHAT YOU CAN DO THIS WEEK TO CHANGE YOUR AVOIDANCE OF PRAYER INTO COURAGE TO PRAY:<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\n

Listen to Jesus<\/strong><\/h1>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Peter, a gifted leader in the church, was a word wrestler.\u00a0 He always had something to say because he thought that his words were more important than God\u2019s word.\u00a0 Remember in Mark 8 when Jesus took the disciples on a retreat in the beautiful hills of Caesarea Philippi?\u00a0 It was there that Jesus confessed his identity to them as God\u2019s messiah and his plan to fulfill that identity by his suffering and death.\u00a0 Yet Peter didn\u2019t like what Jesus had to say.\u00a0 He pulled Jesus aside and began to rebuke him for speaking so hopelessly toward the men who left everything to follow Jesus.\u00a0 However, Jesus had the last word.\u00a0 He identified Peter\u2019s words with the words of Satan himself because anyone who would elevate their words over Christ\u2019s word is aligned with the enemy.\u00a0 So much for a restful retreat for Peter.\u00a0 However, he still didn’t\u00a0learn the lesson.<\/p>\n

The next weekend, Jesus took\u00a0Peter, James and John up to a high mountain alone.\u00a0 There, Peter was\u00a0allowed to see Elijah and Moses talking with Jesus who had\u00a0been transfigured into beaming light.\u00a0 Peter being in love with his own words, interrupted the conversation Jesus was having with Moses and Elijah in order to insert his big idea to build some houses for the three.\u00a0 It was then that God decided to make his point clear to Peter.\u00a0 He descended in a cloud that enveloped them, and announced to Peter, \u201cThis is my Son, whom I love.\u00a0 Listen to him!\u201d\u00a0 God couldn\u2019t be more clear as to what our role is when we speak to him in prayer.\u00a0 His word is infinitely more important than our own words.<\/p>\n

Jesus himself gave\u00a0us the courage to\u00a0practice to listen to God in prayer when he taught the disciples how to pray. \u00a0Jesus’ opening line was this: \u201cOur Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven\u201d (Matt. 6:9). \u00a0We couldn\u2019t be given better instruction on how to turn\u00a0our prayers from a wrestling match of words with God into a spiritually forming encounter with God.\u00a0 We do that by confessing from the beginning that God’s word is more important than our words. \u00a0In this prayer Jesus teaches us to confess:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \n

    God is in Heaven, and I\u00a0am a mere mortal trapped in time. \u00a0<\/strong>We start our prayer with a true perspective on the one who wants to speak to us.\u00a0\u00a0We need to\u00a0confess that God is above us in every way in\u00a0his character, power, importance, honor, and glory.<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
  2. \n

    God\u2019s name is to be hallowed, not my\u00a0own.<\/strong>\u00a0 When we see that the purpose of our praying is to make God’s name great, the quality of our prayers shift from list making to praise making.<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
  3. \n

    God\u2019s kingdom Come, not my\u00a0kingdom.<\/strong>\u00a0 When we praise God, we can then see the value of his kingdom, and we ask for him to establish it soon as it is the longing of our hearts to live with him.<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
  4. \n

    God\u2019s will be done, not my\u00a0will.<\/strong>\u00a0 When we see what God is capable of doing, we want more of his will and less of our own.<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
  5. \n

    On earth as it is in heaven, beginning with me.<\/strong>\u00a0 The first four phrases open us up to hear God. \u00a0The last phrase invites God to\u00a0speak to us in a way that forms us into his image. \u00a0After gaining a true perspective of who it is that wants to speak to us, we can willingly submit our spirit to him\u00a0so\u00a0that he can establish all of himself into us.<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    When we begin to use the first line in the Lord’s prayer as the first line in our own prayers, we will begin creating a sacred space in our lives to listen to Jesus.\u00a0 We will become fertile ground for God\u2019s word to grow and produce much fruit in our lives and in our leadership.<\/p>\n

    So let\u2019s not be like Peter and be word wrestlers. \u00a0Let\u2019s stop avoiding God in our prayers by babbling on and on like Peter.\u00a0 Let\u2019s listen to Jesus. \u00a0Let’s use Jesus\u2019 instruction on prayer to open ourselves up to submit to God\u2019s word instead of asking God to submit to our words.<\/p>\n

    What helps you listen in prayer?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    The last two weeks I shared part 1 and part 2 of my blog post series on prayer. \u00a0This week, I want to share with you the third reason why we avoid prayer. Have you ever noticed that a person who listens is actually more interesting than a person who talks? It sounds crazy, but […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1728,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1727","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theawakenministry.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/3-Reasons-Why-We-Avoid-Prayer-3.001.jpg?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theawakenministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1727","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theawakenministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theawakenministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theawakenministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theawakenministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1727"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.theawakenministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1727\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1746,"href":"https:\/\/www.theawakenministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1727\/revisions\/1746"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theawakenministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1728"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theawakenministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1727"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theawakenministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1727"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theawakenministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1727"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}