"If you would just pray harder..."

File that statement right there pretty high on the list of things I hate to hear Christians saying, especially when it's to non-believers or people who are really struggling in their faith.  People, as good as their intentions may be, can do so much damage when they tell people that they are doing something wrong in their faith, in the way they are trying to talk to God.  I know that whenever I heard that, especially before I became a Christian, all it did was make me hate myself more because I felt like I can't even get THAT right.  It's only been recently that I've come to understand that I really believe there is no one right way to pray, so long as the heart of the person praying is in a sincere, humble place.

How does one pray harder, anyway?  Clayton and I were discussing this last weekend and we both agreed that putting a scale to prayer just seems weird.  God knows our hearts inside and out, He knows what we need and desire before we ever utter a word.  And He's going to execute His will for our good and His glory whether we're whispering as we sit at our desks or screaming through tears on our knees.  He knows our intent and whether or not we are sincere, no matter the tone of our voices.  God isn't one to be fooled.

If we think that doing something differently, "praying harder," will get God to answer our prayer in the way we think we need it to happen, doesn't that just make God some magic cosmic Santa (as Clayton so eloquently put it haha) instead of the King of our lives and the whole universe?  Prayer isn't about connecting with God so He can give us what we want, like some drive-thru cashier, it's about grounding us in God so that we can be at peace when He reveals His plans.

One thing I've been working on learning is that prayer isn't just about talking to God, either.  It's also about being still and quiet and letting God speak to us.  Psalm 25:14 says that God WILL confide in us, but how can that happen if we don't ever take the time to listen?  Prayer is meant to change our hearts to be more closely aligned with the Lord's.  If we think that praying "harder" will change the outcome of a situation that God already sees, that's saying we think that prayer will change God's heart to align with ours.  Aren't we making ourselves our own Gods, then?

These are just my thoughts and opinions on the matter, anyway.

Are there any other phrases like this one that you really hate hearing?