"The Language of Prayer: How to Pray When You Feel Like You Can't"

·32 min·3 clips

Pastor Brad explains why he changed his sermon to teach how to pray when you feel like you can't.

The episode is a sermon from Wabash Friends Church titled 'The Language of Prayer: How to Pray When You Feel Like You Can't,' delivered by Pastor Brad. It is part of a prayer month series, following a previous sermon on the word 'help.' The host explains he changed the planned topic from 'thanks' based on conversations with congregants. He structures the sermon around three main reasons people avoid prayer: not feeling competent, not feeling convinced it makes a difference, and not feeling confident. For incompetence, he references Jesus' teaching in Matthew 7:7-11, where prayer is simplified to asking a loving Father, contrasting it with the Pharisees' complex rules. He cites theologian Kyle Strobel and pastor Charles Spurgeon to stress authenticity over eloquence. For unconvinced feelings, he addresses why pray if God knows everything, using a marriage analogy to highlight relationship over information, and discusses unanswered prayers, suggesting lament and trust in God's wisdom, quoting Tim Keller. For lack of confidence, he shares a personal story about hesitating to pray for a car due to triviality, inspired by a child's note from Faith Bassett, and explains that God cares about all requests. He also tackles feeling unworthy, using a dentist analogy to reject the idea that prayer requires perfection, emphasizing God's grace. The sermon concludes with a prayer inviting congregants to share needs via sticky notes. The format is solo, educational, and narrative-driven, blending scripture, anecdotes, and theological insights.

As heard by us

A pastoral case for bringing unanswered prayer, anger, and weary hope into prayer.

Prayer is hardest here at the point where faith feels most necessary. The pastor moves away from a planned word on thanks and into the weight of praying when prayer feels impossible: unanswered years, empty hands, and a life with God that has gone dry.

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Why you'd press play

When years of praying have left you with empty hands and a tired heart, press play for a gentler way back to prayer.

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