To Pray . . . Or Procrastinate // Guest Post

Today's exciting because there's a guest blogger writing here!  Kiera usually writes over at Narwhal Knits, but today she and I are trading spaces to share a little bit of our faith story.  

Today, I'm going to be tackling a difficult topic. Well, not terribly difficult, but generally, the 13-25 year old demographic really loves to procrastinate. So I'll be writing this behind a tree, trying not to expose myself... too much. (; 

The idea came to me after reading this: 

I just heard this woman say “you procrastinate because you are afraid of rejection. It’s a defense mechanism, you are trying to protect yourself without even trying.” and I think I just realized what was wrong with me. (icecream-eaterrr via tumblr)

Yep, this is a very, very common reason for procrastinating. It’s also why procrastination, even though it’s often associated with laziness, is a fairly common trait in a lot of people with anxiety and perfectionism issues. (eupheme-butterfly via tumblr)

I think, without look too much further into this, we can safely say... yes, that's why we procrastinate. I think we've all been so afraid of not being good enough or not doing something well enough that we've failed to even try. Whether it be meeting someone new, or doing something differently--we've all been in that place where we just felt like we'd rather not try than try and fail. 

I mean, it's hard to fail. In this culture, it's very easy to feel like a small failure is a huge failure. With people flaunting their grades or their expertise, it's hard to not feel like you're good enough. And when you fail at something you rock at, it bites. Majorly. 

Because I want this to be focused on Godly things, I want to talk about how to stop procrastinating in your walk with God. This has been a huge thought for me recently--it kind of feels... weird. Like, I'd love to start reading a chapter of my Bible every day, but I don't know how, and there are so many opinions on how to do it 'properly'. I'd love to start praying every night before bed, but there's so much pressure to pray right and to pray for all of these things and I can't do that. 

^That is me right now.^ 

If that's you, too, then you're in luck! I've thought about this and I've decided to apply a common practice that I've rarely heard spoken in church: Just start now. 

No questions asked, no one looking down at you, just begin. Begin to grow closer to God. And while a lot of pastors say that starting by reading your Bible first thing in the morning is the thing to do, I want to tell you that doing it at night is much better than not doing it at all. 

In this world, there's a lot of ways to do things right. Too often, we let the fear of doing things wrong stop us in our walks with God and our brothers and sisters. I mean, I think of times when I used to serve, but then got too afraid that I was doing something wrong to help. That mindset can hinder our walks with each other, because more often than not, being helpful for someone can make or break their day. 

So I'm going to say this now... I think we need to stop being afraid to start. We're human, and if there's one things we can count on, it's that we're going to fail (2 Cor. 12:9-10). But we can also count on Christ being glorified if we're trying hard to live by his word (see below!). 

Take comfort! You will fail, but you will find Christ's glory. You just have to begin! (; 

It doesn't matter how you pray, but if you need an example, the Lord's Prayer is a great one (Matthew 6:9-13). 

It doesn't matter when you read your Bible, but beginning to grow in Christ in honorable (2 Peter 1:5-10).

It doesn't matter if you're nervous about being wrong, but it does matter that you are fretting so much over it. I'll actually write this one, because it spoke to me: 

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me." John 14:1

If you've been meaning to start, but have been too afraid to, I hope you'll join me in starting today! Even if the beginning is rough, I pray that you'll be led to do what is right for you and your relationship with God!

Kiera