Praying Can Be The Wrong Thing To Do

I grew up in "church" culture. My dad was pastoring a small church when I was born, so since my conception, I've been around church. While I'm grateful for all my church experience, all this time around the church has also developed some habits that aren't biblical nor Spirit-led. Let me explain...

One of the first things I learned about in church was prayer. Obviously, we are commanded to pray in Scripture. Prayer is a vital part of following Jesus. However, I think within the church (at least what I've experienced) we tend to use prayer as an excuse to not obey.

Here's how we do this...

We pray about things we've already been commanded to do
The Bible is full of commands for us to do as followers of Jesus. You don't need to pray about what the Bible has already told you to do. When you chose to pray instead of obey, you're being disobedient. For example, the Bible tells all believers to make disciples. So when you're presented with an opportunity to make a disciple and grow in your understanding of this, you shouldn't pray about it. You just need to do it!

We offer to pray for someone instead of meeting their needs
I think this is what James was talking about in James 2:14-17. It's much easier for us to say to someone, "I'll pray that God opens up a door for you" than for us to actually meet the need someone may have. Something our church is trying to do is to start meeting needs and responding to people as soon as possible. The changes we've made to our Sunday gatherings are making this possible. Yes, there are times when prayer is needed, but most often, God has already met the need if we would just be willing to look within ourselves.

We pray instead of making a decision
Sometimes God will align all the pieces, confirm something from multiple perspectives, and then leave it up to us to finalize the decision and move forward. In these situations, we don't need to continue to pray about what God has already made clear. I've seen this happen from so many different perspectives... in my own life, as a member of a church, and even when serving on a church staff. I've seen God make it clear what needs to happen, but instead of taking action, we remain passive under the excuse "Let's just keep praying about it." I've discovered we typically use prayer as an excuse in these situations when the step God's revealed requires change and adjustment that will most likely disrupt the status quo.

Should you pray. Yes, pray often, but you must also listen and respond to the Holy Spirit who is constantly calling us to obey.

In my next post, I'll talk about how attending church less often has made me a better follower of Jesus, so be sure to stay tuned for that.