Getting “Unstuck” in Prayer

Have you ever felt stuck when trying to pray?

Do you ever feel distracted, confused, frustrated, or at a loss when attempting to communicate with God?

Have your efforts in prayer felt like failure?

Have you ever said your prayers to God should feel and sound and be some way other than what you are experiencing?

What do you do?

In his Spiritual Letters, Abbot John Chapman writes:

Pray as you can, and do not try to pray as you can’t.

Take yourself as you find yourself, and start from that.

Remember, God sees your desire to pray. And where do you think that desire comes from?

Simple prayers, earnestly spoken, are a wonderful way to begin. And I’m encouraged to know that when I am without words, the Spirit intercedes for me (Romans 8:26-27).

Accept where you are, trust what you have, begin where you can, be grateful for what you have (the Psalms, the Lord’s Prayer, collects and good liturgy, memorized, reliable words given to you by other Christian people), notice your longing for God, and patiently wait on the Lord.