How to Overcome Prayerlessness: 11 Proven Ways

Are you seeking answers and a solution to know how to overcome prayerlessness?

Prayerlessness is something we all have experienced (or are experiencing) as believers. Truth is, praying sometimes can be hard.

You know, you have some pressing family needs to attend to, you have the games to catch up on, or even your workload is a complete mess.

These things take a chunk of our time from prayer, and soon, we’d discover we’ve not really prayed for a while.

This did not start today. The twelve disciples of Jesus had the same problem when He was with them here on earth. They got fed up and asked Him to teach them how to pray.

It was humbling, but they had to because they knew the power of prayer to Christians. They understood what Jesus told them about prayer, and wanted to make it a part of their lives.

So the question is how to fight against prayerlessness, we have researched extensively and have found information that will assist you in your quest to break the cycle of prayerlessness.

Also Related: How does Prayer Develop A Relationship with God?

Causes of Prayerlessness.

• Distractions

There are times in life when we get caught up with the issues of life like work, school, and family.  These things may start as emergencies, but they end up replacing our prayer time.

As time goes on, we find ourselves not praying at all because we give them a priority.

• Discouragement

There are times when we go through things that leave us feeling discouraged. We go to our prayer closets and open our mouths, but nothing comes out.

We try to praise and worship but feel like we are hitting a brick wall.

Discouragement is one of the weapons that the enemy uses to attack our prayer lives. If you do not fight back, you will end up having a prayer-less life.

• Stubborn Hearts

At times we stop praying because we do not want God’s help.  Stubbornness will draw you away from God and into the world.

You will lose interest in prayer because you do not want to listen to what God is telling you. Now, remember doing things your way will lead to failure and open the door for the enemy in your life.

• Unbelief

You’ve been asking God for something for long, and now you are beginning to doubt whether it is God’s will for you to have it.

Or maybe the path God is telling you to take seems hard or too good to be true.  Instead of fighting in prayer, you allow unbelief to settle in your heart and stop praying altogether.

Doubting God’s promises always discourages us from praying, and as time goes on, we end up dealing with prayerlessness.

When you stop praying, you stop relying on God and start depending on yourself. Sadly, prayerlessness has its consequences.

 Consequences of Prayerlessness.

• Stress

Prayer helps us to cast all the things that are troubling our hearts to God. It also helps us to replace anxiety with the peace of God that surpasses all understanding.

So, when we stop praying, we end up carrying burdens in our hearts, and this causes us to be stressed.

• Loss of joy

Let’s be honest; it’s hard to have joy in your life when you don’t have an intimate relationship with God.

Prayer brings you closer to God and causes you to enjoy a close relationship with Him.  When you stop praying, you become separated from God, and with time, you start losing joy.

• Lack of Desire for God

What happens when you stop communicating with your friends regularly?  You lose desire in that relationship, right?  The same is true with God.

You will not have a passion for God when you stop communicating with him through prayer.  Other things will start drawing all your attention, and your desire will shift to those things.

What are the Dangers of Prayerlessness?

Prayerlessness should not be taken lightly. It is a dangerous thing that should be dealt with immediately in case you find yourself struggling with it. Why?

• Prayerlessness Limits the Manifestation Of God’s Children

We are God’s stewards on earth. He has placed us on earth for such a time as this so that we can do great exploits for Him.

But we need guidance and protection from the Lord, and that is why we need to pray without ceasing.

It is through prayer that God reveals remarkable things to his children. Prayerlessness limits the manifestation of the great things that we are supposed to do on earth.

It hinders the expansion of the Kingdom of God; that’s why we need to learn how to fight against prayerlessness. (Matthew 16:18-19)

• A Symptom Of Backsliding

Backsliding is a process; it doesn’t happen in one sitting. It can start in the form of prayerlessness.

When you find excuses for not praying, you become spiritually dry and give up on your faith altogether.

The truth:

You are not the first person to struggle with prayerlessness.  The disciples of Jesus struggled to pray; that is why they asked him to teach them how to do it.

They observed his life and saw how Jesus was devoted to his prayer life and the difference it made.  The disciples understood the power of prayer and wanted it to be part of their lives. (Luke 11:1-13)

If you have been struggling with prayerlessness, then don’t lose hope. You can still get your prayer life on track and learn how to fight against prayerlessness.

How to Overcome Prayerlessness.

1. Build Your Faith in God Through His Word

When you look into the true cause of prayerlessness, you will discover it is more of a faith problem than a discipline problem.

You see, prayer is the language of faith in God’s promises. It is acknowledging God’s words about a particular situation; affirming it and reminding Him of what He has said concerning you.

So building your faith automatically strengthens your prayer life. But how do you build your faith? Through a careful study of God’s word.

Romans 10:17 says, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God”.

John Calvin in his book, Enjoying Your Prayer Life, called prayer the “chief exercise of faith”.

This justifies that when your faith is awake, prayer no longer feels like a burden to you; it becomes natural.

2. Take Out Time and Think of God’s Goodness Over the Years.

Sometimes we forget too soon all the great things God has done for us. We tend to focus more on the tantrums life throws at us from right left and center.

We forget when we prayed dearly for a promotion or for that business deal. It came, we got busy and forgot the God behind it.

Prayerlessness sets in too quickly when we forget that it was God’s grace that has brought us this far.

Just like King Solomon once said in Lamentations 3:21, “But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope”.

When you call to mind all the goodness of God, you will want to break down in tears for how He has made you worthy of that goodness.

3. How to Overcome Prayerlessness, Focus on the Reward.

Matthew 6:6 made us understand that when you pray, God rewards you. But what is the reward, you may want to ask.

Jesus said in John 6: 35, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.”

We hunger and thirst for joy, peace, and pleasure every single day. But when you pray based on the reward that you will thirst or hunger no more, your prayerlessness will take a bow.

4. Change Your Orientation About Prayer.

I believe prayerlessness comes from the belief that prayer is asking God about stuff as opposed to building intimacy with God.

When your orientation about prayer is wrong, you will definitely struggle with praying. Of course, if you ask and you’ve received, what else is there to ask?

But dear, it’s not all about asking and receiving; it’s about building a strong relationship with the Father.

It’s about getting more intimate, getting to know His voice, getting to understand Him better in the place of prayer.

5. Train Yourself to Respond to Every prompt to Pray.

When we have the Holy Spirit in us as believers, we usually get prompted to pray at certain times. Sometimes, we obey those prompts, some other times we ignore them.

If you want to fight against your prayerlessness, you have to train yourself to obey those prompts to pray.

See it as a spiritual signal against certain attacks on your life or a loved one. We’ve heard stories of how people obeyed certain prompts by the spirit and saved a loved one’s life.

No, you don’t have to know what you’re praying for; you just have to open your mind and mouth and blast in tongues.

John 16: 13 boldly states that “when the spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come”.

6. Seek Counseling.

Yes. There are certain spiritual challenges you can take care of by yourself.

There are other ones you can’t; you need a counselor to put you through, guide you along the right path, and help you find where you missed it.

The counselor can be your local pastor or the prayer coordinator for your local church.

You see, prayerlessness is something serious, and you have to treat it as such. Join forces with a co-believer.

Sometimes, it’s not even what you think it is; it takes a counselor to help you summon the courage to face the questions you’ve been avoiding your whole life.

Shannon L. Alder said it best, “Courage doesn’t happen when you have all the answers.

It happens when you are ready to face the questions you have been avoiding your whole life.”

7. Ask Jesus to Strengthen Your Faith in His Promises.

Like I mentioned earlier, prayerlessness is more of a faith problem than a discipline problem.

But sometimes, you can try to – study the word and get closer in faith with God, but your mind is too busy to let you. What do you do at this point?

Ask Jesus. Yes, ask Jesus. In Mark 9:24, the Father of the possessed boy that Jesus healed asked Jesus to help his unbelief.

Jesus asked him if he believed, everything was possible, and “immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!”

Prayerlessness means less belief in God’s promises concerning you. Ask Jesus to help your unbelief – and He will.

There is no easier sin to commit than the sin of prayerlessness. It is a sin against God and against Man – Wesley Duewel

Also Related: Why should We Pray to God Every Day?

Conquering Prayerlessness.

Prayerlessness​ is the work of the flesh, sinful nature, and our old man. Prayer​fulness​ is the work of the Holy Spirit in our new man.

We will never be able to boast in our prayer lives because a robust prayer life full of dramatic answers to specific prayers is always the work of God in and through us.

1. The Holy Spirit is a praying Spirit. ​“… praying at all times in the Spirit with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints …” Ephesians 6:18
2. The Holy Spirit helps strive with us to teach us to pray.

​“Likewise, the Spirit helps (GK.Synantilanbanomai) us in our weakness, for we do not what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us, with groanings too deep for words.” Romans 8:26 “Help” is the Greek word Synantilanbanomai, which is to strive, to help in collaboration with.

1. When the disciples asked Christ to teach them to pray, He pointed them to the Holy Spirit. ​“Lord, teach us to pray…How much more will your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask?” Luke 11:1,13
2. Because the Holy Spirit is a praying Spirit, He makes it possible for us to pray continually. ​“Pray without ceasing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:175.

When Christ told His disciples to pray for one hour, He obviously made it ​possible​ for them to pray for one hour. ​“Could you not watch with me one hour?

Watch and pray, that you may not enter into temptation.” Matthew 26:40-4

How to Break the Bondage of Prayerlessness Resources.

War Room: Prayer Is a Powerful Weapon.

The Dangers of Prayerlessness: A 30 Day Devotional to Reignite Your Prayer Life.

The Cure For Prayerlessness: How To Have Boundless Energy And Desire To Pray.

 

All in all: We Learn how to overcome prayerlessness by.

The state of not praying is what is called prayerlessness. We stop praying when we have little desire to fellowship with God.

The causes of prayerlessness are distractions, unbelief, discouragement, and stubborn hearts.

When we stop praying, we end up becoming stressed. We also lack joy and the desire for God.

Now, prayerlessness may not look like such a big deal in the beginning, but it has far-reaching consequences.

Prayerlessness is a symptom of backsliding, and it limits the manifestation of God’s children in the world.

The good news:

So now you know how to overcome prayerlessness and get our prayer life back on track. To break the spirit of prayerlessness, you should build your faith through the word of God.

Always remember God’s faithfulness over the years and focus on the reward.

You should also understand the purpose of prayer, obey every prompt to pray by the spirit, talk to a spiritual counselor, and ask for strength.