True fact about everyone in this world; at some point, we all get TIRED! Whether it be from our jobs, our school work, our families, spouses, children...you get my point. We have all experienced being exhausted.
Now if you are a big mental health advocate/worker like me, you know what "compassion fatigue" is. It's where a mental health professional burns out from doing their job and they begin losing their compassion for their clients, job, etc. But did you also know that there is a thing I like to call "prayer fatigue" too??
Let's say you're someone who loves God and prays generally every day. You pray to God about the SAME THING every day. But nothing happens. So you pray some more. After all, you have to pray until something happens right? (P.U.S.H) But you still aren't seeing any results. One day you just wake up, and you are tired of praying. You say "God, I have tried my best to be patient with you, but you still haven't answered my prayer!" You still haven't passed that important exam. You still haven't gotten healed from that disease. Your marriage is still crumbling. At this point, even when you know you want to pray, you just don't have the strength or hope to even do it. If you relate to any of this...you have (or are currently) experiencing prayer fatigue.
Prayer fatigue may be a new term I just made up, but I guarantee that 98% of Christians have experienced this! You have gotten burnt out on praying and not seeing anything happen.
Even people in the Bible experience prayer fatigue. Do you know the story of Hannah? Hannah was one of Elkanah's wives. Now his other wife could have children, but Hannah couldn't. And the other wife would tease Hannah about this, and reduce her to tears and not eating every time. [1st Samuel 1:5-7] So finally, one day Hannah went to the tabernacle to pray. But the scripture says that she was 'crying bitterly' [1st Samuel 1:9-10]. Apparently, she was crying so hard that the priest Eli thought she was drunk. But she told him that she was so discouraged and that her prayer was coming from a place of pure pain. [1st Samuel 1:16]
Can you imagine how many times Hannah had to have hoped, and prayed, and tried to conceive and just kept being disappointed? That can lead anyone to the point of just crying and begging God to answer your prayer. But that one time after praying at the tabernacle and the priest told to go in peace, she went home and stopped crying. So what's the answer to prayer fatigue? Simple: you have to let it all out! Hint: you see how Hannah talked to the priest about what she was feeling and he spoke the peace of God over her? It's okay to talk to a pastor or someone who can encourage you about this! Because when we are prayer fatigued, it means that we have carried the load too much on our shoulders alone. So here are steps to ending your prayer fatigue!:
Share your prayer request with someone you trust! I definitely suggest to tell a pastor or members of an intercessory prayer team at your church, but it's your choice. Just tell someone who will pray and speak God's peace over you cause this makes a difference! It takes some of the load and pressure off of you. Matthew 18:20 says "For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them" [NLT]. *DO NOT TELL PEOPLE WHO WILL GIVE YOU A PITY PARTY!
Keep praying! 1st Thessalonians 5:17 says to "Never stop praying." [NLT] Literally, that's the whole scripture. Even when you have no more words to say, just talk to God. Tell him how you feel. Talking to him IS PRAYING! Never stop praying cause he hears every word.
Be vulnerable. You know what both tips so far have in common? They require you to be vulnerable. Do you know there have been times where I could barely pray even more? All I did was cry you guys. I just laid there and said "God help me" and cried. And believe it or not, he STILL answered my prayers! There is no right or wrong way to pray. And God loves when we are vulnerable with him. That's why Psalms 51:17 says "The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God." [NLT]
Are you struggling with prayer fatigue? If you are, just know you are not alone! I challenge you to cry and pour your heart out to God, and then turn to a trusted individual to pray with and for you. Just don't stop praying! Never give up; that's what the devil wants you to do. Don't give him the satisfaction!
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