- "I don't believe what I'm saying. This is so serious, This is so formal. Why do I have to go through all of this just to pray for what I want?"
- "I'm too lazy. I'm busy doing this (hobby) or this (responsibility). Don't want to. Don't want to. Not today."
- "I'm sad and confused. Angry or indifferent. I can fix this myself by googling, reading self-help books, taking therapy, reading into psychology or pseudoscience to feel better." I put man's words (wisdom) before God's word (wisdom) (1 Cor 3:18 - 3:20). I'm self-seeking and not putting trust into Him so I believe I can fix everything without need for prayer.
- "I'm too ashamed of what I did. I want to hide and escape it. I'm too guilty". My eyes avoid the cross or any pictures of His face in my home.
- I'm too angry or upset and want to vent my frustration to people only and not confront Him through prayer. Instead I seek validation from other sinning people because I get approval, someone to relate to, and cosign on my sinful behavior. I get a positive affirmation for the sin instead of repentance which is harder to do.
- I wait until the day is done and my energy is spent. "I'm too tired to pray. Too tired. I'll sleep on it." or I'm falling asleep mid prayer and give up.
- If I'm attacked after midnight, it feels good to go back to sleep instead of get up and pray.
- Someone laid a seed of doubt in my mind with some debate or conjecture and I believed it. Then I am indifferent to Christ and the act of praying.
- When I am praying deeply from the heart I feel a torrent of emotions (anger, sadness, resistance) flow through me trying to stop what I'm doing. I am sobbing uncontrollably. (Rom 8:26-27) This also could mean God is reaching us and this is a deep state of repentance as well as the heart opening.
- "My friends (family) don't like it when I get all religious so I won't pray or say certain things in front of them." Or something akin to this example where you feel like you must tread lightly as to not offend or upset people, even if it's rejoicing or thanking God.
may 19 2026 ∞
may 19 2026 +
may 19 2026 +