Tag: Romans 8:26

Tempted to Wait? Breaking the Devil’s Procrastination Spell

Posted on by thechristiantechnerd

I feel a war raging inside of me—not the loud, chaotic kind, but the kind that simmers in silence. The kind that looks like scrolling for an hour before doing anything meaningful, like leaving dishes in the sink again, like hearing the Holy Spirit nudge and still choosing “later.”

But here’s the truth: later is a lie.

And I’m tired of lying to myself.

I’ve come to realize that procrastination isn’t just a bad habit—it’s spiritual warfare in slow motion. It’s subtle, deceptive, and deadly. It wears a cozy robe and speaks in soft whispers: “You’ve got time.” “It can wait.” “You’re just tired.” But those whispers are laced with poison. They lull you to sleep while your destiny waits outside your door, untouched.

“The sluggard does not plow in season; so at harvest time he looks but finds nothing.”
—Proverbs 20:4 (NIV)

This verse smacked me in the face today. I wonder how many harvests I’ve missed because I refused to plow in season? How many doors I’ve closed myself because I was waiting for the “perfect” moment that never came?

I know God is gracious. He restores. But I can’t keep banking on grace to bail me out of every delay I choose. That’s not grace anymore—that’s spiritual immaturity.

Lord, forgive me.

Today I looked around and realized how much procrastination has cost me—emotionally, physically, financially, even spiritually. The stress I feel every time I push a deadline is not random; it’s a symptom. A symptom of avoidance. A symptom of fear. And fear…is not of God.

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”
—2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV)

Father, help me believe this. Help me walk in the power You’ve already given me. I don’t want to keep putting off my life. I don’t want to waste another hour avoiding the hard things You’ve called me to do.

And that’s the part that’s hitting me hardest right now—You called me. Me. You didn’t give me gifts and dreams just for decoration. You gave them for Kingdom purpose. How dare I keep laying them aside for social media, comfort food, or endless distractions?

How dare I say “maybe tomorrow” when Your Word says:

“Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city…’ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.”
—James 4:13-14 (NIV)

I’ve been acting like I’m promised time I’ve never been guaranteed.

Holy Spirit, I repent.

I don’t want a hardened heart. I don’t want to keep ignoring that still small voice that says, “Do it now.” I think of Felix in Acts 24—how he heard the truth, trembled at Paul’s words, and still said, “Come back when it’s convenient.” And that convenient moment never came.

How many of us are spiritually waiting for convenience?

No more.

I’m done waiting for a mood, for motivation, for perfect timing. Those things are unreliable idols. They don’t deserve to dictate my purpose. Only You do, God.

I’m not claiming victory over the temptation of procrastination, but today I took a baby step. I wrote this post entry instead of sleeping in. I washed half the dishes instead of all of them—because progress, not perfection. I prayed instead of numbing with a YouTube rabbit hole. It wasn’t big, but it was faithful.

And You meet me in faithfulness.

“Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.”
—Proverbs 16:3 (ESV)

I’m realizing that procrastination is a form of rebellion—it’s telling God, “I know better than You when and how this should get done.” It’s disobedience dressed up as delay.

Lord, I don’t want delayed obedience anymore. I want a heart that moves when You say move. I want discipline, not because I’m naturally good at it, but because I lean on Your Spirit.

You say the fruit of the Spirit is self-control. So I claim that today. I have self-control in Christ. I can start now. I can finish what I started. I can resist the urge to escape.

God, take my weak moments. Fill them with Your strength.

I don’t need to wait for a better season. This is the season You’ve given me. And I refuse to waste it.

Lord, let me be diligent. Let me be faithful in small things. Help me to show up—even when I don’t feel like it. Help me resist the lies that tell me I’ll never change. Let Your truth override every excuse.

And help me to hold others accountable in love—because if procrastination is killing our generation softly, I want to be a voice that speaks life and urgency and purpose.

I won’t be silent about this. It’s time to wake up.

Resist the Temptation of Procrastination

I want to be completely honest with you, I’m still learning. But here’s how God has been teaching me to resist the temptation of procrastination:

1. Call on the Holy Spirit

When I’m tired or overwhelmed, I lean on this promise:

“The Spirit helps us in our weakness…” — Romans 8:26 (ESV)

And when I feel lazy or unfocused, I remind myself:

“For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” — 2 Timothy 1:7 (ESV)

Self-control is not something I produce—it’s a fruit of the Spirit. So I ask Him daily to grow that fruit in me.

2. Take Action by Faith

Sometimes, I have to move before I feel like it. I heard a pastor once say, “Motion activates emotion.” It’s true. Even doing something small (like starting a task for just 15 minutes) can create momentum.

Faith doesn’t always look like big, dramatic acts. Sometimes faith looks like answering that email, or getting out of bed to pray, or finishing what you started.

3. Use Tools—But Start with Prayer

Before I touch my to-do list or planner, I pray:

“Lord, order my steps today. Help me walk in your will, and not waste what you’ve entrusted to me.”

Then I’ll use practical tools like the Pomodoro technique (25 minutes work, 5-minute break) or break a big task into tiny, manageable steps. God is not against structure—He designed order into the universe!

4. Stay Accountable

I’ve asked two godly friends to help me with this. We check in weekly—not to shame each other, but to lovingly remind one another that obedience is worth it.


God, I thank You for revealing to me the spiritual weight of procrastination. Forgive me for every time I’ve ignored Your call, delayed my purpose, or chosen comfort over obedience. Today I choose to trust You with my time, my tasks, and my tiny steps forward. Help me resist fear and distraction. Fill me with the fruit of self-control, and let diligence rise in me like a holy fire. I surrender my timeline to You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

How Can Christians Learn to Pray Confidently

Posted on by thechristiantechnerd

Prayer can seem intimidating if we lack confidence that God will really listen to our prayers and answer them. We may see prayer as an obligation rather than an opportunity – and end up not praying much, then feeling guilty. If we learn to pray confidently, though, we can enjoy the process of praying, because we’ll wake up to God’s presence with us there.

What Does it Really Mean to Pray Confidently?

Praying confidently means trusting that God will meet us in prayer because he cares about us. 1 John 5:14-15 assures us that we can pray to our loving God with confidence: “And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.” It’s possible to pray confidently because God will listen to us with love and answer us according to his will, which reflects his great wisdom and power.

All we need to do is show up, do our best to communicate with God, and then trust God to respond in the best ways and in the best timing. The more we devote ourselves to prayer, the more we can develop the trust we need to do so.

Here are five ways Christians can learn to pray confidently:

  1. Approach God with reverence and humility:

If any sin in our lives has distanced us from God, we may lack the confidence to pray. John 9:31 reveals, “We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him.” We should be reverent and humble when approaching our awesome God, confessing our sins and accepting God’s help and forgiveness so we’ll be able to come into his holy presence with a clear mind and an open heart. We can confess directly to God: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). We can also confess to our brothers and sisters in Christ: “Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” (James 5:16). Once we’ve dealt with any sins we need to confess, we can be confident in approaching God with our prayers. “Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God” 1 John 3:21 assures us.

  1. Let go of formulas:

We don’t need to worry about following any formulas when we pray. God will still accept our prayers if we don’t use formal language when we speak or if we don’t sit still with our eyes closed. God will still listen and respond if our thoughts are unorganized or our emotions are raw. God will meet us where we are when we simply pray naturally, and his Spirit will help us express what we’re truly longing to pray. As Romans 8:26 assures us, “… 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.” We don’t need formulaic methods of praying; all we need is a genuine desire to communicate with God.

  1. Try out creative possibilities:

We can feel free to try praying in new ways that shake up our prayer routines. The creative possibilities for expressing our prayers are unlimited, and include writing, drawing, singing, and dancing. We can pray silently anytime and anywhere, such as while driving, walking, or cooking. What’s most important is that we pray in ways that truly get us excited about communicating with God.

  1. Listen as well as talk:

Prayer should be a two-sided conversation between us and God. So, after we talk to God, we need to listen to what God may have to say to us. God promises in Jeremiah 33:3: “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and incomprehensible things you do not know.” By quieting our minds and focusing on hearing from God, we can discern messages that the Holy Spirit sends into our minds during prayer.

  1. Expect big answers from our great God:

We can also develop more confidence as we pray by expanding our prayers. Rather than only praying small prayers (for situations that don’t require much help from God to change) pray big prayers (asking God to intervene in situations and do what only he can do). We can remove limitations from our prayers, keeping in mind that God “… is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us” (Ephesians 3:20). Invite God to do something greater than what we can do ourselves, in each situation we present to God in prayer. Dare to ask for big answers from our big God! As Jesus encourages us in Matthew 7:7, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”

The ability to communicate with our Creator in prayer is a blessing that we can embrace with confidence. Learning to pray confidently will move us closer to our loving God who always wants to meet with us. As Hebrew 4:16 says, “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Let’s look forward to the wonder we can discover during our prayer times with God!