If you want to go on a journey. If you're skeptical, don't worry. Now here to preach. I'm gonna keep it clean and talk to me and recaud where faith need, spars of nature, get in touch with your creator with a Baker, love and jew She even speaks Hebrew.

If you want to go on a journey. If you're skeptical, don't worry. Now here to preach. I'm gonna keep it clean and talk to me and recaud where faith need, spars of nature, get in touch with your creator with a Baker, love and jew She even speaks Hebrew.

What's that, Gotzato?

What's that, Gotzato?

What's that? As well?

What's that? As well?

Sadposation?

Sadposation?

You should talking transformation? What's that?

You should talking transformation? What's that?

Gonzato?

Gonzato?

Hey?

Hey?

Hey, and welcome back to What's God got to do with it? And today we're diving into a big, honest and super common question that got sent into Ask the God pod, and I know it hits home for so many of us. And the question is what if I just don't feel like praying? And so maybe you've been there, you know, feeling dry, disconnected, or even a little bit guilty because you know, prayer is supposed to be this beautiful, powerful, intimate connection with God, but you just don't feel it. Or maybe you're in a place where you want to want to pray, like you want to want to pray, but the desire just isn't there right now. And so, first of all, if that's you, you are, there's nothing that you're doing wrong. You are not failing, and you're definitely not alone in this. I've definitely been there too. And yeah, even after everything I've shared on this podcast, and even after building an entire relationship with God from scratch, after years without living without him, I still have seasons where prayer feels hard or distant or forced. And I used to beat myself up for that, and I used to believe that there was something wrong with me, or that I was, you know, messing up my relationship with God. But the truth is it's a lot more common than we realize. And so today we're gonna unpack. You know why we don't always feel like praying oiler alert, It's because you're human, right, But also where that resistance might be coming from, and how to gently shift from I should pray to hey, I want to talk to God. So let's go ahead and just normalize this. First of all, you are not a bad Christian or a bad prayer or messing up your relationship with God. If you struggle with prayer, you are just human. And so let's get super real, right, There's a lot of reasons why we might feel resistance to prayer, and sometimes we don't even recognize it. As resistance. It just shows up as procrastination or avoidance or disinterest. But then the guilt sets in, and then shame joins the party, and before we know it, we're even more disconnected. And so here's a few reasons that this can happen. The first reason is shame and unworthiness okay, And so sometimes we don't feel like we can go to God because we're feeling ashamed or unworthy or like we've disappointed him and maybe we haven't you know, been doing the right things, or we feel like we've messed up and we start to think why would God want to hear from me? Or like what would I say to him if I did show up? But my friends, this is exactly when we need prayer the most, okay, not as some spiritual obligation, but has a lifeline when we're feeling those things and as a reminder that God's love isn't performance based and He's not waiting for us to clean up before we can come to him. He wants us to come as we are. Okay. The next reason is, you know, we think that prayer has to be perfect, right, or organized, and maybe you were raised in a faith environment where prayer was formal or structured or filled with pressure to say the air quotes right things. And so now the idea of praying feels intimidating or overwhelming or like you're going to mess it up. But here's the truth. God is not grating your prayers. He's not standing there with a red marker right and he's not looking for eloquence. He is looking for honesty. He wants your real voice, not a rehearsed one, not some sugarcoated voice. He wants to hear your real voice, your real heart. And some of the most powerful prayers that I have ever prayed have been one sentence and most likely whispered through tears. Where it starts with God, I don't even know what to say right now, And that's where I start. I say, God, I don't even know what to say right now. I am feeling X or this is happening, and I feel bad that I don't even know what to say right now. All the things I just start there, God, I don't even know what to say right now, and that counts okay. The next reason is we're emotionally or spiritually burned out, and life can be a lot sometimes like a lot and maybe you're carrying emotional exhaustion or spiritual burnout or mental fatigue, and in those moments, even thinking about prayer feels kind of heavy. And again, that doesn't mean that you don't love God, and it doesn't mean that you are disconnected period, end of sentence. It just means that you're weary. And even that is something that you can bring into prayer. And so Matthew eleven twenty eight, it says, come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. And notice it doesn't say like, come to me when you're motivated, or come to me when you've got it together. He says come as you are. Okay, So what do we do when prayer feels hard? And so let's talk about how to gently move back into connection with God without pressure or guilt or performance, because again, prayer isn't about checking a box. It's about relationship and it's a conversation, not a chore. And if it feels like a chore, that's okay too, But that's what we want to talk about. And so here are a few simple shifts that can make prayer feel more accessible. Again, So the first thing is just start where you are, Like, you don't need a spiritual warm up, and you don't need the right mood or mindset. Okay, you can just start right where you are. Whether that's tired, anxious, angry, numb, overwhelmed, hungry, whatever it is, God can handle it. And also, I want to give you permission if what you're coming to God with you feel petty or caddy or mean or whatever, like you feel like you're being a victim, you feel like whatever. God can handle that too, and owning it is a beautiful thing. In fact, when you come to Him raw and real, you're actually bringing your most authentic self into relationship with Him. And so one of my favorite things to do when I feel stuck is to say, God, I don't even know what I'm doing right now, but I know I want to connect with you. Please meet me here right, Or if I'm journaling, I'll say, hey, God, I'm here, Like, do what you will with me. I'm just showing up right. That is a prayer asking God to just meet you there. The next thing is to shorten the distance, and so we often think prayer has to be long and elaborate. Right, we think about in maximums. If I don't have thirty minutes or I don't have twenty minutes, then I don't have time to pray. But it's like, what if it was thirty seconds instead of thirty minutes? Right, Sometimes the most honest prayer is a single sentence breathed in the middle of your day, and like for me, it's like God, I need you, or it's God, please help me call my thoughts, or God, thank you for this moment, like wow, I don't want to miss this, right, just that like ten second prayers. The more you practice these micro prayers, the more you'll begin to see prayer as an ongoing conversation with God, not just something that you do in a quiet room for thirty minutes like a zen monk. Right. When you can do it like this, you can go in it with minimums not maximums. You start to see Him everywhere, and you can pray indefinitely and infinitely. The next thing is just to make prayer a dialogue. It doesn't have to be a formal monologue. And so often we think of prayer as us just talking at God. But what if it's also about creating space to listen? Right? And that might look like sitting quietly for a few minutes after you pray, or it might be journaling and seeing what comes up. Or it might be even taking a walk and asking God to show you something as you move your body. And so remember, prayer isn't about performance. It's not like a checklist that you just Okay, done, prayer, did that for the day? Right. It is about presence and communion and relationship. And it doesn't have to be loud to be powerful. The next thing I want to offer you is what if you tried praying without words? So this one was a game changer for me, is you don't have to have the words. Okay, Sometimes just sitting in God's presence with your heart open is enough. Like put on worship music, light a candle, take a deep breath in, smell some essential oils, whatever it is, and just be with him. Like even if there's no thinking or talking or speaking or listening, it's just sitting in his presence. Romans eight twenty six says the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us. I love that we do not know what we ought to pray for but the Spirit himself intercedes for us, right, and so even when you don't have words, just show up. The Spirit is already praying on your behalf. Just show up. That's all he's asking, okay. And then, of course, this is one of my go tos, is to just journal it out. And so if sitting in silence or speaking out loud feels too hard, write it down. There is something magical that happens, not to mention neuromagical that happens when you put pen to paper, and so let your journal be the space where you talk to God. Like there is no right or wrong way to do it. You can just write, you know, God, here's what I'm feeling, or God, I don't understand this. Or I've had ones where I'm like, God, I'm mad at you right now and then I realize, okay, that's okay too, right, Or God, I want to feel close to you again, but I don't feel close to you, right. So this turns your journal into this sacred space where you can process your thoughts with God instead of away from him. And so all of this is just to say, like, if you're in a season where you don't feel like praying. I want to say, from the bottom of my heart, God is not mad at you about that, and he's not disappointed in you, and he's not going anywhere, okay, Like if you don't come to him and pray for a few days, he's not like, fine, I'm done with her. Right, this isn't a performance issue. It's a heart invitation, okay. And so I invite you instead of saying I should be praying. What if the question became like, what would it look like to just let God be with me today? Right? Like, just be with me today on my walk, at my work, when I'm on that phone call. Right, Prayer doesn't have to be fancy or formal, and it definitely doesn't have to be flawless. Right. It can be a sigh, It can be a whisper. It can be a tear. It can be a song that you're listening to that just moves your spirit or gives you goosebumps. It can be a walk, it can be a page in your journal. God just wants to be with you. And whether you're on fire for him or you're barely hanging on, his love for you hasn't changed. And so this week, let that be your practice, like not praying perfectly, but just showing up honestly, even if all you say is like, God, I don't feel like praying, but I still want to stay close to you. That my friend is a prayer okay, and even that like that in itself is where real connection begins. Okay. So thank you for hanging out with me today on What's God Got to Do with It? And this. If this episode gave you permission to exhale and if it helped you feel less alone in your faith walk, that makes me very happy and feel free to just share it with somebody else who might need that too. And if you've got a question you'd love for me to answer in a future, ask the God plod please send it my way. And until next time, just remember God is there for you. He just wants you to show up, all right. He's not looking for perfect prayers, He's just looking for you. Bye. We'll be back with more What's God Got to Do with It? But in the meantime, I would definitely love to hear from you, So just tell me where you are in your story or maybe what questions you have, like where do you feel you need clarity or support? Or wisdom in your own journey. I definitely want to hear from you, So head on over to What's God Got to Do with It? Dot com and scroll down to the form to share your thoughts, your questions, your feedback, and you can do that instantly. So What's God Got to Do with It? Dot Com You'll find all the ways to do that. And if you like this podcast and want to hear more, go ahead and follow, like, and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts to get your weekly dose of What's God Got to Do With It? New episodes drop every single Tuesday, and while you're there, be sure to rate and review to show your support. It really means so much. What's God Got to Do With It is an iHeartRadio podcast on the Amy Brown Podcast Network. It's written and hosted by me Leanne Ellington, executive produced by Elizabeth Fozio, post production and editing by Houston Tilley, and original music written by Cheryl Stark and produced by Adam Stark.

Hey, and welcome back to What's God got to do with it? And today we're diving into a big, honest and super common question that got sent into Ask the God pod, and I know it hits home for so many of us. And the question is what if I just don't feel like praying? And so maybe you've been there, you know, feeling dry, disconnected, or even a little bit guilty because you know, prayer is supposed to be this beautiful, powerful, intimate connection with God, but you just don't feel it. Or maybe you're in a place where you want to want to pray, like you want to want to pray, but the desire just isn't there right now. And so, first of all, if that's you, you are, there's nothing that you're doing wrong. You are not failing, and you're definitely not alone in this. I've definitely been there too. And yeah, even after everything I've shared on this podcast, and even after building an entire relationship with God from scratch, after years without living without him, I still have seasons where prayer feels hard or distant or forced. And I used to beat myself up for that, and I used to believe that there was something wrong with me, or that I was, you know, messing up my relationship with God. But the truth is it's a lot more common than we realize. And so today we're gonna unpack. You know why we don't always feel like praying oiler alert, It's because you're human, right, But also where that resistance might be coming from, and how to gently shift from I should pray to hey, I want to talk to God. So let's go ahead and just normalize this. First of all, you are not a bad Christian or a bad prayer or messing up your relationship with God. If you struggle with prayer, you are just human. And so let's get super real, right, There's a lot of reasons why we might feel resistance to prayer, and sometimes we don't even recognize it. As resistance. It just shows up as procrastination or avoidance or disinterest. But then the guilt sets in, and then shame joins the party, and before we know it, we're even more disconnected. And so here's a few reasons that this can happen. The first reason is shame and unworthiness okay, And so sometimes we don't feel like we can go to God because we're feeling ashamed or unworthy or like we've disappointed him and maybe we haven't you know, been doing the right things, or we feel like we've messed up and we start to think why would God want to hear from me? Or like what would I say to him if I did show up? But my friends, this is exactly when we need prayer the most, okay, not as some spiritual obligation, but has a lifeline when we're feeling those things and as a reminder that God's love isn't performance based and He's not waiting for us to clean up before we can come to him. He wants us to come as we are. Okay. The next reason is, you know, we think that prayer has to be perfect, right, or organized, and maybe you were raised in a faith environment where prayer was formal or structured or filled with pressure to say the air quotes right things. And so now the idea of praying feels intimidating or overwhelming or like you're going to mess it up. But here's the truth. God is not grating your prayers. He's not standing there with a red marker right and he's not looking for eloquence. He is looking for honesty. He wants your real voice, not a rehearsed one, not some sugarcoated voice. He wants to hear your real voice, your real heart. And some of the most powerful prayers that I have ever prayed have been one sentence and most likely whispered through tears. Where it starts with God, I don't even know what to say right now, And that's where I start. I say, God, I don't even know what to say right now. I am feeling X or this is happening, and I feel bad that I don't even know what to say right now. All the things I just start there, God, I don't even know what to say right now, and that counts okay. The next reason is we're emotionally or spiritually burned out, and life can be a lot sometimes like a lot and maybe you're carrying emotional exhaustion or spiritual burnout or mental fatigue, and in those moments, even thinking about prayer feels kind of heavy. And again, that doesn't mean that you don't love God, and it doesn't mean that you are disconnected period, end of sentence. It just means that you're weary. And even that is something that you can bring into prayer. And so Matthew eleven twenty eight, it says, come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. And notice it doesn't say like, come to me when you're motivated, or come to me when you've got it together. He says come as you are. Okay, So what do we do when prayer feels hard? And so let's talk about how to gently move back into connection with God without pressure or guilt or performance, because again, prayer isn't about checking a box. It's about relationship and it's a conversation, not a chore. And if it feels like a chore, that's okay too, But that's what we want to talk about. And so here are a few simple shifts that can make prayer feel more accessible. Again, So the first thing is just start where you are, Like, you don't need a spiritual warm up, and you don't need the right mood or mindset. Okay, you can just start right where you are. Whether that's tired, anxious, angry, numb, overwhelmed, hungry, whatever it is, God can handle it. And also, I want to give you permission if what you're coming to God with you feel petty or caddy or mean or whatever, like you feel like you're being a victim, you feel like whatever. God can handle that too, and owning it is a beautiful thing. In fact, when you come to Him raw and real, you're actually bringing your most authentic self into relationship with Him. And so one of my favorite things to do when I feel stuck is to say, God, I don't even know what I'm doing right now, but I know I want to connect with you. Please meet me here right, Or if I'm journaling, I'll say, hey, God, I'm here, Like, do what you will with me. I'm just showing up right. That is a prayer asking God to just meet you there. The next thing is to shorten the distance, and so we often think prayer has to be long and elaborate. Right, we think about in maximums. If I don't have thirty minutes or I don't have twenty minutes, then I don't have time to pray. But it's like, what if it was thirty seconds instead of thirty minutes? Right, Sometimes the most honest prayer is a single sentence breathed in the middle of your day, and like for me, it's like God, I need you, or it's God, please help me call my thoughts, or God, thank you for this moment, like wow, I don't want to miss this, right, just that like ten second prayers. The more you practice these micro prayers, the more you'll begin to see prayer as an ongoing conversation with God, not just something that you do in a quiet room for thirty minutes like a zen monk. Right. When you can do it like this, you can go in it with minimums not maximums. You start to see Him everywhere, and you can pray indefinitely and infinitely. The next thing is just to make prayer a dialogue. It doesn't have to be a formal monologue. And so often we think of prayer as us just talking at God. But what if it's also about creating space to listen? Right? And that might look like sitting quietly for a few minutes after you pray, or it might be journaling and seeing what comes up. Or it might be even taking a walk and asking God to show you something as you move your body. And so remember, prayer isn't about performance. It's not like a checklist that you just Okay, done, prayer, did that for the day? Right. It is about presence and communion and relationship. And it doesn't have to be loud to be powerful. The next thing I want to offer you is what if you tried praying without words? So this one was a game changer for me, is you don't have to have the words. Okay, Sometimes just sitting in God's presence with your heart open is enough. Like put on worship music, light a candle, take a deep breath in, smell some essential oils, whatever it is, and just be with him. Like even if there's no thinking or talking or speaking or listening, it's just sitting in his presence. Romans eight twenty six says the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us. I love that we do not know what we ought to pray for but the Spirit himself intercedes for us, right, and so even when you don't have words, just show up. The Spirit is already praying on your behalf. Just show up. That's all he's asking, okay. And then, of course, this is one of my go tos, is to just journal it out. And so if sitting in silence or speaking out loud feels too hard, write it down. There is something magical that happens, not to mention neuromagical that happens when you put pen to paper, and so let your journal be the space where you talk to God. Like there is no right or wrong way to do it. You can just write, you know, God, here's what I'm feeling, or God, I don't understand this. Or I've had ones where I'm like, God, I'm mad at you right now and then I realize, okay, that's okay too, right, Or God, I want to feel close to you again, but I don't feel close to you, right. So this turns your journal into this sacred space where you can process your thoughts with God instead of away from him. And so all of this is just to say, like, if you're in a season where you don't feel like praying. I want to say, from the bottom of my heart, God is not mad at you about that, and he's not disappointed in you, and he's not going anywhere, okay, Like if you don't come to him and pray for a few days, he's not like, fine, I'm done with her. Right, this isn't a performance issue. It's a heart invitation, okay. And so I invite you instead of saying I should be praying. What if the question became like, what would it look like to just let God be with me today? Right? Like, just be with me today on my walk, at my work, when I'm on that phone call. Right, Prayer doesn't have to be fancy or formal, and it definitely doesn't have to be flawless. Right. It can be a sigh, It can be a whisper. It can be a tear. It can be a song that you're listening to that just moves your spirit or gives you goosebumps. It can be a walk, it can be a page in your journal. God just wants to be with you. And whether you're on fire for him or you're barely hanging on, his love for you hasn't changed. And so this week, let that be your practice, like not praying perfectly, but just showing up honestly, even if all you say is like, God, I don't feel like praying, but I still want to stay close to you. That my friend is a prayer okay, and even that like that in itself is where real connection begins. Okay. So thank you for hanging out with me today on What's God Got to Do with It? And this. If this episode gave you permission to exhale and if it helped you feel less alone in your faith walk, that makes me very happy and feel free to just share it with somebody else who might need that too. And if you've got a question you'd love for me to answer in a future, ask the God plod please send it my way. And until next time, just remember God is there for you. He just wants you to show up, all right. He's not looking for perfect prayers, He's just looking for you. Bye. We'll be back with more What's God Got to Do with It? But in the meantime, I would definitely love to hear from you, So just tell me where you are in your story or maybe what questions you have, like where do you feel you need clarity or support? Or wisdom in your own journey. I definitely want to hear from you, So head on over to What's God Got to Do with It? Dot com and scroll down to the form to share your thoughts, your questions, your feedback, and you can do that instantly. So What's God Got to Do with It? Dot Com You'll find all the ways to do that. And if you like this podcast and want to hear more, go ahead and follow, like, and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts to get your weekly dose of What's God Got to Do With It? New episodes drop every single Tuesday, and while you're there, be sure to rate and review to show your support. It really means so much. What's God Got to Do With It is an iHeartRadio podcast on the Amy Brown Podcast Network. It's written and hosted by me Leanne Ellington, executive produced by Elizabeth Fozio, post production and editing by Houston Tilley, and original music written by Cheryl Stark and produced by Adam Stark.