The Praying Life: Five Weaknesses and the Spirit’s Solution

Prayer is the lifeblood of the Christian faith, yet many believers struggle to maintain a consistent prayer life. Rather than avoiding this uncomfortable reality, we must honestly examine the obstacles that hinder our communion with God. Drawing from Romans 8:18–30, we can identify five common weaknesses that prevent us from praying as we ought.

Before exploring these weaknesses, we must understand the tension inherent in Christian life. Believers live in what theologians call “the already and the not yet”—we are saved, we are being saved, and we will be saved. This threefold reality creates a dynamic tension that makes prayer essential to our faith.

Paul captures this beautifully in Romans 8, speaking of creation waiting “with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God” (Romans 8:19). We possess the firstfruits of the Spirit while we “wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies” (Romans 8:23). This patient expectancy is not passive but active, expressed primarily through prayer.

The passage reminds us that “the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words” (Romans 8:26). This profound truth—that we do not pray alone but with the Spirit’s assistance—should encourage every struggling believer.

The most obvious barrier to prayer is guilt. We know we don’t pray as much as we ought, and this awareness produces spiritual insecurity. Rather than drawing near to God, guilt keeps us at a distance, creating a vicious cycle where our failure to pray makes us feel too ashamed to pray.

The solution is not to make excuses or become defensive, but simply to confess honestly: “Yes, I don’t pray as much as I should.” This admission, far from being defeat, is actually the first step towards progress. Recognising our weakness allows us to seek the Spirit’s help that Romans 8:26 promises.

Many Christians genuinely don’t know how to pray or what to pray for. The question haunts us: How do people pray for hours? What do they say? This uncertainty creates feelings of inadequacy that stunt our growth as praying people.

However, there are practical ways to overcome this ignorance. First, learn by doing—the best way to learn prayer is simply to pray. Second, attend corporate prayer gatherings to hear others pray. Prayer is caught as much as it is taught. When we hear mature believers pray, something resonates in our hearts, teaching us what faithful prayer sounds like.

Third, imitate the prayers found in Scripture. Fourth, read books about prayer by respected authors and preachers. Fifth, and perhaps most importantly, immerse yourself in the Psalms. These are honest prayers that teach us the language of communion with God. They express every human emotion—joy, sorrow, anger, fear, praise—showing us that we can bring our whole selves before God.

This is perhaps the most difficult weakness to acknowledge. We might admit to guilt and ignorance, but unwillingness cuts deeper. It reveals a heart problem rather than merely a knowledge problem.

Overcoming unwillingness requires deliberate effort. We must study the prayers found in Scripture, learning what theologians call “the language of Zion.” The acrostic ACTS—Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication—provides a helpful framework. Developing a Trinitarian understanding of prayer helps us grasp to whom we’re praying and why. All this requires effort, but it’s effort that yields eternal dividends.

Our distracted age makes sustained prayer difficult. Our minds wander, our phones beckon, and a thousand concerns vie for our attention. This distractedness easily spoils our prayer life.

Corporate prayer provides a powerful antidote. When we pray together, we can “amen” the prayers of others, keeping ourselves focused and engaged. A prayer meeting isn’t people taking turns to pray—it’s a whole group praying together, with one person articulating what all are feeling. Saying “amen,” “yes, Lord,” or “please, God” keeps us attentive and united in purpose.

Praying with others is often more productive than praying alone. We pray far more prayerfully in community, as the prayers of others stimulate and prompt our own prayers. Someone mentions a need we’d forgotten, and suddenly we feel burdened to pray about it too.

The final barrier is presumption—a subtle belief that God will do what he’ll do regardless of our prayers. This might stem from entitlement, pride, laziness, or self-preservation. We convince ourselves we don’t need to pray, that our lives are already busy and tense enough without adding another obligation.

Yet Scripture is clear: “You do not have, because you do not ask” (James 4:2). Paul instructs us in Philippians 4 not to be anxious but to make our requests known to God with thanksgiving. We mustn’t presume that God will simply give us what we need without our asking. Prayer isn’t optional—it’s essential.

While private prayer is important, corporate prayer is vital for spiritual growth. We are not isolated individuals but members of Christ’s body, the bride of Christ. Our Christian life is fundamentally communal, lived in community before God.

Notice Paul’s plural pronouns in Romans 8:26: “the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as weought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us.” Prayer is designed to be done together. We need to hear what others pray about, to benefit from their years of learning, to gain insight into their hearts.

To abandon prayer is to embrace practical atheism. While no genuine Christian would willingly abandon prayer, we can drift away incrementally—through busyness, tiredness, and a desire for comfort. Before we realise it, we’ve become prayerless people.

The call to corporate prayer isn’t manipulation or control—it’s a pastoral desire for believers to experience what is good for them, for the church, and for the world. Christians who love each other and desire to serve one another to the glory of God will gladly and regularly pray together.

We live in tumultuous times. Let us pray whilst the sun shines so that, when storms break, we won’t feel the added burden of hypocrisy and guilt. Let us come together, confessing our weaknesses, and discover afresh that we don’t pray alone—the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.