When You Don’t Feel Like Praying

You know you should pray. Maybe you even plan to. You finish your day thinking, I’ll pray before bed. But then you grab your phone for “just a minute.” One video becomes several. One text turns into a long conversation. Before long, the time you meant to spend talking to God quietly gets pushed aside.

Other times, it is not just distraction. You might feel mentally drained, stressed about school, frustrated with yourself or simply too tired. In those moments, prayer can feel like one more thing you do not have the energy to do.

Or talking to God may feel awkward or unnatural. You may wonder if He is really listening.

You probably already know prayer is important. You have heard sermons about it. Your parents talk about it. You have heard prayers at Sabbath services and before meals. Deep down, you know prayer is one of the main ways Christians build a relationship with God.

But knowing you should pray and actually praying are not the same thing.

Part of the challenge is that prayer is easy to put off. If you skip homework, your teacher notices. If you miss work, your boss asks why you were not there. But if you skip prayer, no one may say anything. No alarm bells. No one immediately asks what happened.

Yet God does notice.

He sees when we make time for Him. He also sees when we consistently allow other things to crowd Him out.

That is not meant to scare you. It is meant to make it real. Prayer is more than a religious habit. It is your opportunity to speak to the God who made you, who knows what you are facing, and who wants you to turn to Him.

Still, prayer does not always feel easy. If you wait until you feel focused, motivated, spiritual and perfectly ready, you will probably keep waiting. A strong prayer life is not built only in moments when prayer feels natural. It is built when you talk to God even when you are distracted, tired, ashamed or unsure of where to begin.

So what should you do when you know you need to pray, but do not really feel like it?

The Flesh Is Weak

Jesus Christ understood something about human nature that every person trying to follow God eventually learns firsthand: Even when we sincerely want to do what is right, we can struggle to follow through.

The night before His crucifixion, Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsemane with some of His disciples. He knew the terrible suffering He was about to face. He told Peter, James and John to stay awake and watch with Him. But when He returned from praying, He found them asleep.

Then Christ said: “Watch and pray, that you enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matt. 26:41).

You likely know that battle well. You can intend to do something—“the spirit is willing”—but fail to deliver—“the flesh is weak.”

This verse is not an excuse for weakness. It is a warning. Christ knew His disciples wanted to do what was right, but good intentions were not enough. They needed to stay spiritually alert and connected to God.

Notice that Jesus did not say, “The flesh is weak, so do not worry about it.” He said, “Watch and pray.”

Prayer is not something you save for when you already feel strong. It is one way you go to God for strength.

Do Not Hide from God

Sometimes prayer is hard for even more serious reasons: You know you need to talk to God, but you do not want to.

Maybe you lost your temper. Maybe you said, thought or did something you knew was wrong. Maybe you ignored your parents, treated someone badly or fell into a bad attitude. Afterward, prayer can feel uncomfortable. You may feel fake kneeling down to talk to God after doing something you know He does not approve of.

Guilt can make prayer feel like walking into the principal’s office after doing something wrong. But God wants you to come to Him, ask for forgiveness and His help to change.

King David’s example shows both the danger of hiding sin and the right way to respond once we see ourselves clearly. After he sinned, David did not immediately face what he had done. He tried to cover it up, and his choices led to even more sin. God eventually sent the prophet Nathan to confront him. Only then did David stop hiding and fully admit, “I have sinned against the Lord” (II Sam. 12:13).

Psalm 51 records the attitude David had after that correction. He did not keep defending himself or blame someone else. He went to God openly and asked for mercy: “Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness” (vs. 1). He asked God to wash him, cleanse him and create in him “a clean heart” (vs. 10).

This is the right response to guilt. Do not hide from God. Talk to Him about what happened, admit what was wrong and ask for forgiveness. Ask for help to think differently and do better next time.

Even struggling prayers are still prayers. A prayer after a mistake may feel uncomfortable, but it can be one of the most important prayers you give. It shows a conscious decision to turn back to God instead of drifting further away.

Do Not Wait for a Crisis

Prayer is not only for moments when you feel guilty or desperately need God’s help. It is also something you build into normal life.

If you only try to pray when you are already overwhelmed, ashamed or afraid, prayer is going to feel even harder. You may not know where to begin. But when you regularly talk to God during ordinary days, it becomes more natural to turn to Him at difficult times.

The Bible instructs Christians to “pray without ceasing” (I Thes. 5:17). This does not mean you must be on your knees every minute of the day. It means our communication with God should stay consistent throughout life.

We should pray when things are going well. Thank God for His blessings. Talk to Him about your goals, your friendships, your family, your schoolwork and the decisions you are trying to make. Ask Him to help you think more like He does before a problem becomes a crisis.

Prayer does not need to feel dramatic. It is OK for it to feel ordinary. Those ordinary prayers matter. They help you build a real relationship with God day by day.

Start Small

So what should you do when you know you need to pray, but do not feel like it?

A place to begin is by removing distractions. Make sure your devices are out of reach. Go somewhere quiet. Give yourself a few minutes without checking messages, videos or notifications.

Then you can start with how you are feeling. Be honest:

• “Father, I’m tired, but I know I need Your help.”
• “God, I feel distracted right now, but I want to talk to You.”
• “I do not know exactly what to say, but I do not want to ignore You.”
• “I feel guilty, and I need Your forgiveness and help to change.”

Opening lines like these can help you talk through your hesitation instead of pretending it is not there. They also help you begin a genuine conversation with God.

What else should you pray about? Christ gave a guide for prayer in Matthew 6:9-13. This model prayer is not a script to repeat without thinking. It is a pattern that teaches us what to include when we talk to God. It begins by honoring God and praying for His Kingdom to come. It includes asking for daily needs, asking for forgiveness and asking for help to resist temptation and stay close to Him.

That gives you somewhere to begin when your mind feels blank.

But you can also just open up and talk. Tell God about what is happening in your life. Talk to Him about school, your family, your attitude, your friendships, your goals, your worries and the areas where you know you need to grow. Thank Him for specific blessings. Ask Him to help you see yourself honestly and think more like He does.

For a fuller look into how to pray, what to pray about, how often to pray and what can affect whether our prayers are answered, read the article “The Keys to Dynamic Prayer”.

Some days, prayer may come more easily. Other days, you may have to push through distraction, tiredness or embarrassment. Do it anyway. It shows God that your relationship with Him matters.

Over time, prayer will become more natural. That will not happen all at once. It happens as you keep turning to God day after day—even when you may feel unfocused or do not feel like you have much to say.

The habit you build now can shape your relationship with God for the rest of your life. So when you do not feel like praying, do not wait until you feel ready. Start where you are.