Prayer Paralysis
Do you suffer from prayer paralysis? Have you ever suffered from prayer paralysis? What? You don’t know what prayer paralysis is? Let me try to explain.
Let’s say you and I have an issue between them. Nothing bad,necessarily, just something that needs to be resolved. You have a solution to solve the issue. I, when presented with the solution, go away from meeting with you. My response?
“I’ll pray about it.”
Perhaps I will pray about it. Perhaps I won’t. Maybe I am waiting for the right word from the Lord to strike me in prayer. I don’t know. Neither do you. Unfortunately, however, in this situation the issue does not get resolved. No word comes. It could be I am just stalling. I may not like the solution presented to me. This issue that needs to be decided is a victim of it.
Prayer Paralysis
I just committed prayer paralysis. I slowed the process down and brought it to a halt until I could ”pray” about the situation. The problem? When someone does this, it makes it difficult to call them out or question their intent. After all, I would say, don’t you want me to pray about it. Certainly. We’re all in favor of prayer and praying about things. What we aren’t in favor is people using prayer as a stalling technique.
So what’s the alternative?
The question is why haven’t I been praying about this already? Why haven’t I asked the Lord to give me the wisdom to analyze solutions to the issue? Why haven’t I prayed for my friend to have the wisdom to provide a solution? Why am I waiting and then praying?
What should you do?
Maybe you want to do something in your church. Maybe you have been praying about what God wants you to do in your church. Maybe you feel led in a certain direction already. Maybe you feel strongly about some ministry after already being proactive and praying about it. Go to your pastor. Tell him you’ve been praying about what the Lord would have you do in the church. Tell him how you’re feeling led. Be proactive. Don’t wait to be asked and then pray about it.
Don’t be guilty of prayer paralysis
I’ve been guilty of it. Have you ever been guilty of prayer paralysis?
Prayer paralysis? Never had that problem… Ok, that’s a lie.
I’ll never forget something I heard Randy Stonehill say about a trip to Mongolia. He said that he didn’t feel particularly called to go, but would go because it was the right thing to do. So if I understand you, prayer paralysis occurs when we pray about sonething that we already k is the right thing to do–and we pray because we don’t want to do that thing.
Carpe diem for Jesus, man!
Basically we use it as a stalling technique. I’m not sure we are really aware we do it at first. For example, I say, “Chad, would you chaperone the youth on the youth trip.” You reply, “Let me pray about it.” You don’t really want to go, so you say this to stall the answer. That way you sound spiritual when you answer no, instead of just saying no. At least, that’s one example.
Guilty.