How to be a Prayer Wimp

Daniel’s habit of prayer is impressive. When warned not to pray under the threat of being thrown into the lion’s den, he continued his daily habit without interruption.

Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. (Dan 6:10)

Three chapters later he says, “So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes” (Dan 9:3).

Although prayer is not explicitly mentioned in chapter 10, I think it’s safe to assume that Daniel was praying during his three-week fast:

At that time I, Daniel, mourned for three weeks. I ate no choice food; no meat or wine touched my lips; and I used no lotions at all until the three weeks were over. (vv. 2-3)

In short, Daniel was a prayer warrior. Nothing—not even the threat of execution—could stop him from praying. In addition to his daily prayers, Daniel set aside special times when he devoted particular attention to prayer and fasting.

But what if Daniel had a cell phone? Would he have been too distracted to pray? Would screen time have reduced his prayer time?

I recently read a stat that said on average Americans check their phones 144 times per day. These constant checks must be affecting many things, including our prayers. Are we finding our screens more interesting than God?

Don’t misunderstand me. I am not a Luddite. I am typing these words on a screen, knowing that you will read them on a screen. I am saying that we often get too addicted to technology to the detriment of our prayers.

In all likelihood, screens, or more precisely, our addiction to them, are turning us into prayer wimps, not prayer warriors. Maybe, though, you aspire to be a spiritually weak Christian. In that case, make sure to follow the instructions below:

1. Before getting out of bed in the morning, check your Facebook feed.
2. Start praying then as soon as you get mentally distracted, pick up your phone and check Instagram.
3. Instead of meditating on God’s Word day and night, think about what you will post day and night.
4. Open your Bible app then suddenly remember that you have to send a text.
5. Never even consider fasting and praying.
6. When you are bored, don’t pray. Instead check your latest post and see how many likes you have.
7. Make sure your notifications are turned on so that you hear the bells ringing all day long, including during your prayer time.
8. When you are worried, don’t pray. Instead scroll through your list of followers so that you feel better about yourself.
9. Make sure you are always connected to WiFi but don’t worry about your connection to God.
10. Go into your room, close the door, then watch YouTube.

Les Bridgeman

After graduating from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, I served as a high school Bible teacher in Asia. I enjoy traveling, writing, and playing the drums. My latest book focuses on Paul’s work as a tentmaker and what it means for today.