Second part of a series on aspects of prayer by Revd Donald Dowling
Part 2 - The 5 'D's'
• Distraction
• Doubt
• Depression
• Disobedience
• Darkness (Desert experiences)
Sometimes we find it very difficult to pray, but prayer like other spiritual disciplines is not meant to be always easy. We need to learn how to differentiate between those occasions when our disinclination to pray or sense that we are not getting through is due to us and the times when it is either because of factors over which we have no control. It may even be because God is giving us a learning experience.
1. Distraction
We need to recognise that prayer involves us in spiritual conflict. Although some Christians are unhappy with the notion of a personal malevolent spirit (or the devil), there is no doubt that Jesus believed this and the early church accepted this and I do as well. Whilst we need to be cautious in attributing to him everything that goes wrong - we ourselves are capable of great evil without his help. Nonetheless, he is on the watch and will do all within his power to divert us from prayer. For he is better aware than us of the power of prayer in promoting the kingdom of Christ. So the answer to distraction lies in discipline. We need to protect the space for prayer, to ask for protection and inspiration, and to devise some simple strategies for dealing with interruptions and unbidden thoughts - a notepad and pencil are useful, and turning off the mobile! Of course, not all distractions are diabolic, we need to respond to emergencies and crises, but I can guarantee that as soon as we have set aside some time for prayer everything will conspire to prevent it.
2. Doubt
Doubt is natural and can be positive. Honesty in prayer is essential. To say to God at times: "I don’t believe you are there," or "how can I believe in your goodness or power in the face of so much suffering, pain, injustice or cruelty?" can lead to dialogue, compassion and greater understanding of the cross. However, the enemy is adept at sowing doubts and our personality or circumstances can aid this. At such times the psalms are useful. Read Psalms 42 and 43 for instance. Don’t give up for God is the rewarder of those who seek him (Hebrews 11:6). Keep a private prayer journal where you can write down things or people you have prayed about and note any answers. Join a prayer triplet where you can give mutual support and encouragement. Jesus particularly promised his presence and his power when two or three gather in his name (Matthew 18:19,20).
3. Depression
This is a clinical condition from which Christians are not immune. However, it engenders a vast amount of judgementalism and guilt. The causes of depression are manifold: loss, bereavement, stress, false guilt, physical illness, chemical imbalance, personality disorders are among the most common, but Christians often flagellate themselves for a disorder over which they have no control. They are not helped by a school of teaching that suggests that it is a sin to be depressed. Inevitably depression affects our spiritual life and we often cannot pray (and feel guilty that we can’t). What we need is soul friends those who will pray for us and listen to us. Sometimes using a book of prayers helps or the reading of selected psalms (e.g. Psalms 121 or 130), or the comfortable words of Jesus that we use at communion. And as for that devilish suggestion that we are of no use to God remember that Elijah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel all knew what it was to be depressed but were also tremendous servants of God.
4. Disobedience
If we deliberately disobey God then that will affect our prayer life Isaiah 59: 1-3). The answer is simple, get ourselves right with him. Repentance does not just mean saying sorry, but being sorry, by a change in behaviour and restitution where appropriate (Psalm 32:1-5 and Psalm 51).
5. Darkness (The desert)
There are periods in many Christians’ lives when they cannot hear God and they have heard him before. Sadly much popular protestant and charismatic theology does not pay sufficient attention to this. Like Cowper, the eighteenth century hymn writer and poet who suffered from religious melancholia, they attribute it to sin:
Where is the blessedness I knew
When first I saw the Lord?
Where is the soul-refreshing view
Of Jesus and his word?
Return, O holy dove, return,
Sweet messenger of rest;
I hate the sins that made thee mourn
And drove thee from my breast.
However, the truth is that desert or wilderness experiences are frequently found in the Bible among those who are closest to God. Jesus driven by the Spirit in the wilderness, in Gethsemane, on the Cross experienced darkness or the dark night of the soul. Jeremiah cries out to God in complaint:
O Lord you have deceived me, and I
was deceived;
You overpowered me and prevailed...
The word of the Lord has brought me
Insult and reproach all day long (Jeremiah 20:7-8)
Similar passages can be found in Ezekiel, Job, Lamentations and the Psalms. These are testing experiences in which the reality of our faith is proved. Do we, as Satan suggests in the book of Job, serve God for what we can get out of him or out of love? How we cope with such times are dealt with in Part 3.
Revd. Donald Dowling