How To Overcome Limiting Beliefs About Prayer

Are you having a hard time truly forming a deep relationship with God? If so, you might have limiting beliefs about prayer. Find out what it means, how to spot it and what you can start doing today to overcome it.

It was a rare Saturday morning when I was up before the kids and found myself in a predicament – workout or catch up on emails and social media?

The workout would wait – at least for a few minutes, I decided. I chose the fun option and checked emails and social media.

As I glanced through the 50 unread emails, I sighed. All the emails were either:

Spam
From retail stores.
Or someone offering yet another free guide of how to make $1M in 30 days selling real estate. Not quite what I was looking for.

But one email caught my eye out of the bunch, from one of my favorite Christian bloggers.

I quickly opened it, already excited for the wisdom inside. The email detailed her own savory and deeply personal encounter with God.

I loved her story.

I long for an intimate experience with God as well.

“Well, that’s nice for her,” I thought to myself, closing the computer, “but things like that don’t happen to people like me.”

How many times have you thought the same thing?

Maybe you thought about it when your friend told you how much she likes going to church.

Or those words pop up when someone invites you to pray.

I know these thoughts all too well and they have kept me from praying, stolen my joy and caused me to wander through life without a compass.

They needed to go!

Being aware of these roadblocks is half the battle. The next step is knowing how to overcome them.

The Thing Keeping You Back From Deep, Powerful Prayers

I have good news and great news.

The good news is when these thoughts appear what is really coming to the surface is something in our own subconscious mind.

It is called a limiting belief. And we all have them.

Sometimes it’s a limiting belief about love, “No one would ever want me!”.

Or a limiting belief about money, “I can never be wealthy. I’m destined to be in this same place all my life.”

And even limiting beliefs about prayers, “Why should I bother praying, God doesn’t answer me anyway.”

Here’s how it affects you….

The things you really want to do, such as exercising, eating healthy or praying, can be stopped short by your subconscious mind telling you that we are not worthy of having it.

I know you have a deep desire to pray and spend time with God but something is holding you back from fully surrendering and diving headlong into a relationship with Him.

Until you overcome your limiting beliefs about prayer it will be difficult to move forward and have an enriched prayer life.

The great news? The deep desire to pray is a sign that despite everything, the Holy Spirit is calling you into union with Him. He is seeking you right now!

And that is absolutely something to celebrate.

In fact, your current attitude towards prayer is something you can change with a little time and patience.

Limiting beliefs steals our joy but how can we overcome it?

How to Spot Limiting Beliefs From A Mile Away

Not sure if limiting beliefs about prayer that is holding you back?

Look at these sentences: Do any of these sounds like you when you think about prayer?

“I don’t have time to pray.”

“Why bother, God doesn’t answer my prayers anyway.”

“ God won’t listen to me.”

“I don’t know how to pray.”

“I am not good at praying.”

“I am not worthy of being heard.”

“God does great things for others, but He won’t do it for me.”

“ I am not a good person so God will not answer my prayers.”

“ I am so overwhelmed I don’t even know where to start”

And on and on and on.

You’re probably saying one right now in your head or you’re agreeing with one of those above.

Whatever it is, we all have limiting beliefs about something. But the truth is negative self-talk are often based entirely on our own perceptions, rather than on facts.

The Bible is clear when it says, “The LORD your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love, he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.” Zephaniah 3:17

And while you might think you are not worthy of being loved, God says “Never will I leave you. Never will I forsake you.” Hebrew 13:5

He cares so very deeply for you.

Let’s try this simple exercise. Without giving it much thought, how would you complete these sentences?

I don’t pray because ___________________.

I want to pray but _________________________.

What are the limiting beliefs that pop up?

Try to really spend some time thinking about this and see where limiting beliefs might have come from.

Ask yourself:

Is it really based on fact or is it purely something that is in your own subconscious mind?
Was this something I observed from others or a conclusion I came to myself?
Do I want to continue with this limiting belief or am I ready to try something new?

The Best Way To Overcome Limiting Beliefs About Prayers

Now that we know that the thing that is keeping us from fully being in a relationship with God can be our own subconscious mind, here is what we can do to change it.

Affirmations.

Affirmations are phrases or beliefs we say to ourselves to change our situation or mindset.

By including this powerful tool into our lives we use words to create a new reality for ourselves – a true reality.

While there are many affirmations to choose from, the most effective and life-giving affirmations are the ones based on God’s words.

Bible-based affirmations not only help encourage but bolster your spirit as well because you are sharing your goal with God.

You are essentially partnering up with Him to break through any wall that your subconscious mind might try to put up to stop you from praying.

To help you get started, grab these 12 Bible-based affirmations.

The Secret to Enjoying Your Prayers

Many of us want to live joyfully and have a deep relationship with Christ. We know that having Him by our side is the best gift we can give ourselves and those we love.

By recognizing your limiting beliefs about prayer and having your Bible-based affirmations to counteract those subconscious beliefs, you are well on your way to developing a powerful prayer habit you’ve always wanted.

After I started changing the way I spoke to myself and about my prayer life, I felt such an abundance of peace and joy.

I now read God’s words and believe them in my heart to be true.

When someone shares their wonderful testimony of what God has done for them, I can rejoice with them because I know that God can and, in His perfect timing, will do the same amazing things for me.

After overcoming limiting beliefs about prayer, I can truly see myself as a child of God; one who is loved, redeemed and worthy.

This is true and lasting joy; joy that no one can take away.

Before You Go: Two Notes on Affirmations

Two things I wanted to mention before you dive fully into reciting your Bible-based affirmations.

First, If there is something on your heart you know you need to confess to God, please do so. As Catholics, we usually confess our sins to a priest and ask for absolution. While limiting beliefs may, in fact, be keeping you from fully embracing your prayer, it is also helpful to start with a ‘clean slate’ and ask forgiveness for anything that you may have knowingly or unknowingly done to offend God. Repeating these affirmations with unconfessed sin in your heart will not do much good.

Secondly, while affirmations have enormous benefits, it does take time and requires consistency and patience. We all have our inner self-talk. In fact, whether we are aware of it, or not, we are constantly talking to ourselves. If your self-talk has been usually negative about prayer, you can combat them with these powerful Bible-based affirmations and change your entire mindset. You will be amazed by how much these can help you look at prayer in a whole new light.

Whatever limiting beliefs you have about prayer, it’s time to release it and let God in. Do not let yourself get in the way of experiencing God’s amazing goodness and overwhelming love.

Download Your Free Bible-Based Affirmations and Circle Of Control Poster

If you are struggling to make prayer a priority or in connecting deeply with God, it could just be something in your subconscious keeping you back. Use these Bible-based affirmations to remind yourself that you are in fact hard-wired to be in a relationship with the Creator.

Download the free Bible-based affirmations printable. When you complete the form you also subscribe to my weekly newsletter and get access to all the beautiful resources in the Printable Library. Click here to download and subscribe.