6: When Good Things Get In Your Way

In a previous post, we asked you to identify the obstacles that are in the way of the prayer life you’ve always dreamed of. This “obstacles” question (what’s in your way?) is important to ask, but only after you’ve examined the state of your current prayer life (how is it now?) and thought about the prayer life you want to have (what do I want it to be?).

This is after all, a coaching series on prayer. You can’t coach without asking vital questions. We’re working on gaining awareness of where we currently are, shaping a vision for the future, identifying what’s in our way, then crafting a plan to get there.

Hopefully the end result will be deeper closeness with the Father, steady confidence in God’s Will, and growing Christlikeness. A vibrant prayer life isn’t the end goal; a vibrant prayer life is the means to get there.

I can’t blame my writing absence on sickness—I just had other things going on. Those other things were an obstacle to a stated goal of mine, which was writing this summer blog series. But those other things got in the way. They weren’t bad things, but they were things in the way, nonetheless.

What are the things in your way when it comes to prayer? That’s what we asked you to think about last time. And now that you’ve had well, almost three months to think about it (oh my gosh has it been long that long?!), hopefully you have some good ideas about your obstacles.

Like my obstacles for writing, they may not be bad things. They may actually be good things getting in your way. And if they’re good things, you may not notice their presence. It’s the bad things we’re often aware of, but we don’t see the effect the good things are having on us.

Are good things getting in the way of your ideal prayer life?

Psalm 34:9-10 says,

“Fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him lack nothing. The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.”

I like this psalm because it reminds us of what’s important and what happens when we keep the main thing, the main thing.

Namely, when we delight ourselves in the LORD and seek him, we will lack nothing. We will lack no good thing. We will miss nothing. We will have everything we need. We will be full and satisfied. We will be rich and abundant.

Not by seeking good things, but by seeking Him. “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you as well.” (Matthew 6:33)