I’ve just noticed something today… whenever I start to pray, I get a very strong temptation to either stop praying, or do it very quickly to “get it over with”. It’s really frustrating cause I want to pray and I also really need it. I’m wondering if anyone else has struggled with this… how do you fight this temptation, - how do you just make yourself pray? Is it just an effort of the will? I feel so weak sometimes.
Thanks
yes i experience this quite often, and the one obvious reason is of course the devil, who hates you and hates prayers and wants more then anything for you to neglect yourself and to be lost…but there are 2 other sources of temptation other then the devil, which are, the world, and ourselves.
in order to become stronger against those two sources of temptation we need to become detached from them, and for that, first and foremost, we need God, Who is the source of all our strength and all that is good,
but in order to detach from the world, we need to really detest the things of this world, and by detest i simply mean that we need to take worldly things for what they are, and acknowledge where they come from,
this world is here to serve us, and as we well know, we end up being slaves to the earth rather then the earth being slave to us, it’s part of our fallen nature, which is what resulted from the first fall of Adam, and by which we have an irrational tendency away from what is morally good and towards what is wrong, it is a weakness, but not a permanent defect, by the grace of God we can remake ourselves, and how we do that is by turning away from the world and seeking God and all that is good with as much eagerness and devotion as we did with what was bad for us,
which of course is not an easy road to take(which is why so few take it) but we are also not expected to quit cold turkey, God gives us the graces we need gradually as we need them, and how quickly we advance simply depends on our determination,
and then of course there is the detachment from ourselves, which is actually harder then detachment from the world, because when you get right down to it, the true source of our weakness and all of our irrational tendencies are found within ourselves,
for example, the saints, when they were at the peak of their sanctity, how was the world? the people around them? and not to mention, the devil? they were just as weak and alluring and evil as ever, those things did not change, the saints became who they were by changing within, not without,
and so to blame the world or people or the devil for our sinful ways is really no excuse, because despite those things, we have ended up with thousands of (known) saints,
the key is simply to focus our attention on the root causes, which are found inside ourselves,
and the things necessary to overcome ourselves are all the things God has given us, prayer, penance, mortification, the sacraments, spiritual reading, practice of all the virtues, keeping the commandments of God and of the Church, keeping away from proximate occasions of sin…all these things and more, basically, we must live our lives always seeking what we know is right, by means of the imitation of Christ, and also by means of what God has revealed to us through His church…
well, i’m getting carried away…but i think something that will help you more specifically with your current problem is to have holy water on hand, and bless yourself with it often, and sprinkle it around the room saying the Saint Michael prayer before you begin your prayers.
and if the problem persists, make good use of it by offering it up, turn it into something good and useful, and then if it is a temptation from the devil, he might stop because of the good you are using it for, and if it’s not from the devil, then God will still be pleased by the good you make of your temptation, and perhaps He will help you more to overcome it.
here is a prayer i think will help you very much in your temptations and sufferings -
*
**Prayer in time of need
- from the diary of Sister Faustina***
Jesus, do not leave me alone in
suffering. You know, Lord, how
weak I am. I am an abyss of
wretchedness, I am nothingness itself;
so what will be so strange if You leave
me alone and I fall? I am an infant,
Lord, so I cannot get alone by myself.
However, beyond all abandonment I
trust, and in spite of my own feeling I
trust, and I am being completely
transformed into trust - often in spite
of what I feel. Do not lessen any of my
sufferings, only give me strength to
bear them. Do with me as You please,
Lord, only give me the grace to be able
to love You in every event and
circumstance. Lord, do not lessen my
cup of bitterness, only give me strength
that i may be able to drink it all.
alright, hope this helps, take care.
