What if I can't pray?

Sometimes, when we are honest, it feels like we cannot pray. Maybe we don’t know how. Maybe we there is an old wound, anger, or suffering that seems to have silenced our souls.

Even if you regularly pray, you may look at some topic and not be able to pray it. Life is hard. Jesus has not left us alone as orphans, and He has carried the weight of our sin and suffering—and also, until we are fully healed and this world is made fully right, there are wounds that are too raw to open as quickly as an email.

If you find a topic like that for you, don’t guilt yourself. You can read it or skip it for the week. Using a prayer guide doesn’t earn you any points—Jesus already earned the points and covered your bill, so there is no guilt. But please also know that, suddenly, right as you may have felt very alone, there are people surrounding you in this community who are praying for you. Skimming through that week’s guide may be a tiny step into healing. We bear one another’s burdens.

And when you have the courage to tell God honestly how you feel—even if it is is hard for you to acknowledge—then know that your honesty to God, whatever that looks like, is prayer. This is what it looks like sometimes.

If you feel stuck in the silence and the dark, you need to know and hear that you are not alone, and there is no darkness big enough that Jesus has not already conquered it. In His death and resurrection, He beat hell itself. Darkness wants you isolated, feeling like you are excluded from redemption. That darkness is not the king. Jesus is, and He died and rose from the dead to rescue you. He is more than enough, and He is not ashamed of you.

Please reach out to a trustworthy friend or family member, your church, a safe mentor, or a Christian counselor if you find yourself spiritually struggling and isolated.

Unconnected? Reach out to us. We do our best to keep a list of some resources on important soul and life care topics that may fit for you in your part of NWA. (This resource list does not have financial or other ties to NWA Prays Together; it is a care resource.)

You don’t have to go alone. You are not alone.

If you are dealing with self-harm or suicidal thoughts, you matter, and this matters. Call 988 for the national suicide hotline, contact a safe loved one who can support you, or head to a local hospital.

What if I don't like something?

Sometimes, people will look at a topic or the way that someone approaches it and will just feel annoyed. Maybe the prayer writer seemed to miss something. Maybe you don’t like them or their approach. If the Old and New Testaments are any reliable witness, God’s people sometimes drive each other crazy; We do not appear to have mellowed with age.

So if there is a week that somehow seems off for you, here are some useful steps:

If you can pray for the issue but prefer to do it differently—great! More prayer to God is better!
If you cannot pray because of your frustration—okay. Can you pray for the writer, that God would right them (remembering in time that perhaps He will also right you)?
If your frustration is too deep for that, feel free to close the email and try again next week.
And if you need to reach out to reflect, please do. Please do remember that Jesus sees your screens, so whether it is encouraging or expressing a concern, maintain your integrity. Inappropriate emails of all sorts will be deleted without response.

What if I want to use something I read?

First, thank you! It means a lot that you have read something that you find meaningful and want to share.

Please properly cite and quote this work and follow all applicable copyright laws. If you would like to reprint or share large sections of work, please contact us to secure permission first.

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In order to protect the trust and generosity our writers as they invest in this ministry, this boundary is very firm.

Using someone else’s words in speech or writing and not properly citing them is plagiarism, which is stealing.

Quotations can be properly used and cited in spoken and written work online and in real life according to standard legal use, acknowledging the writer/ editor and source (NWA Prays Together).

Full prayer guides may always be forwarded freely and generously.

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