There’s an old Puritan expression, “Pray until you pray.” I first stumbled across it when I read Tim Keller’s book on prayer a few years ago, and it’s stuck with me ever since. Pray until you pray. This little four-word exhortation captures what I often think about prayer but am hesitant to say aloud—that prayer can feel like work. Sometimes it takes a good chunk of time flitting through my mental to-do list and walking the tightrope of my spider-webbing thought process before I can finally still my thoughts and move from the flurry of sort-of praying to actual, “here I am Jesus, please help me stay in this conversation,” praying.
I’ve read books on prayer, listened to teaching on prayer, given talks on prayer, made prayer lists to help with thought organization during prayer, and have even prayed to be a more faithful and focused pray-er. I love that there are apps, journals, tips, and hacks for cultivating a regular prayer life, but after dabbling in many of those helps, I’ve learned that we will only grow in prayer by praying. And prayer takes time, attention, and some work. In a sense, it is working through that first part of prayer (misplaced thoughts, mental chaos, stream of conscious thinking) that is essential for getting to the second part (actual conversation with the Lord). We must pray until we pray.
I hate that I struggle so much to stay focused, to stay vigilant, and (let’s be honest) to stay awake. The first hour of my day is the quietest one and has long been dedicated to prayer and Bible reading. And yet, even in the stillness of a dark, quiet morning, I struggle to get to the part of prayer that really feels like praying. There are days when I feel like Jesus is sitting in the room with me. And there are days when I wonder if there was any reason to spend those twenty minutes going through the motions and speaking into the air. This is a conversation with my God, the Creator and Sustainer of life, after all. What could be more interesting or necessary than that? Jesus died to give me access like this to the Father (see Heb. 10:19-22). Still, it feels hard at times. There’s a lot about prayer that involves faith and not sight. There’s a lot of trust bound up in sitting alone with the Lord and voicing all our concerns, fears, sins, praises, worries, tears, and hopes—and then leaving it with him. And that’s after you get through the mental gymnastics of quieting the to-do list, the dinner plans, and the random rabbit-trailing that often occurs when we sit to pray.
And yet, there is hope that as we practice prayer regularly—giving ourselves to intentional communion with the Father— we will truly learn what it is to pray with a focused heart and mind. We might have to work through the distractions first, but we can pray until we pray. We might feel formal at first, but we can pray until we pray. Eventually, we can move from intentional, do-not-disturb kind of prayer to affectionate, “I’m so glad to be here with You, Lord” kind of prayer. Habit can lay the path to faithfulness. I wonder if that’s why Paul gives us commands to pray unceasingly. When I read Paul’s exhortations to pray all the time, I wonder how that’s possible. Perhaps he means cultivating a life that defaults to prayer as much as possible—staying in regular conversation with the Lord. I certainly long for that kind of attitude towards prayer. But if we seek to pray often and intentionally throughout the day, the result could be a mind and heart that get more easily to the part of prayer where defenses are dropped and the formality flees.
Don Carson has this to say about the Puritan’s expression on prayer:
“What they mean is that Christians should pray long enough and honestly enough, at a single session, to get past the feeling of formalism and unreality that attends not a little praying. We are especially prone to such feelings when we pray for only a few minutes, rushing to be done with a mere duty. To enter the spirit of prayer, we must stick to it for a while. If we ‘pray until we pray,’ eventually we come to delight in God’s presence, to rest in his love, to cherish his will. Even in dark or agonized praying, we somehow know we are doing business with God.” (Source)
Don’t despair if you have to work through that first part of prayer to get to the part you long for. Fighting to put your thoughts into proper place is good necessary work that lays the path to entering the sweet spirit of prayer. As you practice prayer—praying unceasingly, at all times— I believe your heart will travel that path more quickly. No matter how we may feel in our prayer time, we can be confident that God is always listening, the Spirit is making our prayers better, and Jesus is praying for us at the same time. So, pray. Until you pray.
If we seek to pray often and intentionally throughout the day, the result could be a mind and heart that get more easily to the part of prayer where defenses are dropped and formality flees. Share on X
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Glenna Marshall is married to her pastor, William, and lives in rural Southeast Missouri where she tries and fails to keep up with her two energetic sons. She is the author of The Promise is His Presence (P&R) and Everyday Faithfulness (Crossway), and Memorizing Scripture (Moody). Connect with her on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
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