What hinders our prayers?

Most Christians would readily agree that certain things hinder them from experiencing consistent faithfulness in their prayer lives. Most Bible-believing Christians acknowledge that prayer is critically important to experiencing a vibrant walk with Christ. Yet those same people would also admit that from time to time certain things hinder them from spending time in prayer with the Lord. What are these hindrances and how can we overcome them?

Busyness

Someone has said, “If the devil cannot make you bad, he will try to make you busy.” Busyness is one of the great enemies of effective prayer. Perhaps the classic example in Scripture is the contrast between two sisters, Mary and Martha, who lived during Jesus’ day in the small town of Bethany outside of Jerusalem. When Jesus came to see them, Martha became busy preparing a meal for Jesus, while her sister, Mary, took time to sit at Jesus’ feet and listen to His word. In the end, Jesus commended Mary and rebuked Martha. He told them both that time spent alone with Him in meditation and prayer was more important than anything else (Lk. 10:38-42).

If you are too busy to pray, then you are too busy. You must “seek first His kingdom” (Matt. 6:33) by spending time with God in prayer. If you do not make time for talking with God, God might “readjust” your schedule for you until you have plenty of time to talk with Him.