Praying Through It All

I fall into a familiar trap of multitasking now and again. When I first entered the professional world, it was a habit to be praised. Then I recall hearing someone point out that it’s impossible to devote 100% of your undivided attention to any given task when you are multitasking. It was like a lightbulb suddenly went off. It was obvious, at hearing it. You can’t have undivided attention if your attention is already divided. Of course. Yet, and I know I’m not the only one guilty of this, I still attempted to do it. The only result I ended up with was a few things completed simultaneously where I could have given each a little more of my attention.

We fall into a similar trap with our spiritual lives. For some people, prayer becomes an item on a to-do list. I’ve been guilty of that myself. Prayed today? Check. As we become more spiritually mature, we learn the valuable communication tool that prayer affords us. Direct communication to the Father himself. There is no better phone line. Yet, for many people, when faced with difficulty, it becomes the most challenging thing to do. 

A few weeks ago, I listened to an Elder minister on the topic of prayer and he said something that truly resonated with me. The moment we stop praying, we create space for the enemy. Again, it was like a lightbulb went off. I know this, in theory. Yet it was still something I occasionally fell victim to. When my attention became divided, it became increasingly easy for attacks from the enemy to cause my focus to drift even further. During those challenging moments, prayer felt hard. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to unload all my woes and worries on God, as the scripture tells me to, it was more like a battle of where to begin. How do I pray and remain connected with God when it feels like my life is in turmoil? How do I continue to persist and persevere in my prayer life when it feels like there are so many prayers that have gone unanswered already? These are questions I had and I know that I’m not alone. 

One thing that I had to learn was the importance of taking even those questions and concerns to God. Notice I said “learn”. It became an opportunity of spiritual growth. If I was unfamiliar with God’s word and his promises, then how could I know and understand prayer as my asset? Another lesson learned was that prayer was not one size fits all. The way that you spend time in prayer may look completely different from mine and that’s okay. 

We can at times be our own worst critic. The negative thinking has an impact on us seeing and understanding what God sees in us. This is not unique to us out here living our 2025 life. But it is evidence of why we can’t allow our time spent talking to God to falter when our life situations get rough. I’m guilty of being a young person who thought, how on earth can I pray without ceasing when there are so many essential things to take care of? How can I truly pray all the time?! The answer became a little easier when I stopped focusing on how others appeared to pray and I established this relationship with God for myself. Prayer is communication. When we think about the basic elements of a conversation, it is equal parts talking and equal parts listening. Sometimes, we talk a little too much. We have to learn to take out time to listen for God’s response. Focus a little less on what you want to say and put more attention on what God is saying to you.

Stay Sunny!

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