I’m doing a series at church on prayer right now.

This illustration is actually begging to be used… but it just doesn’t fit any of my remaining lessons.  So to the blog-cave…

“I think prayer is analogous to sex.  (People’s ears always perk up when I say that.)  Most people would complain about their sex lives; a few do really well.  Sex and prayer are intimate and over-glamorized relationships.  We all are led to believe that we should be in the stratosphere in sex and in prayer.  It sets up a false expectation.  And breaks down intimacy.”

The lady who wrote that later spent several months in Africa, which forced her into a slower pace.  From that place, she added to her notes…

“Again, similar to sex, when we are so busy and filled with the cacophony of life, it is hard to relax, be quiet and communicate.”

And in case the analogy still isn’t clicking for you, Philip Yancy chimes in with a few further thoughts…

“As I thought about her unlikely analogy, it occurred to me that reading a book about prayer has some parallels to reading a sex manual.  What sounds so thrilling on paper bears little resemblance to how sex usually plays out between two vulnerable people who approach it with very different expectations.  Like sex, prayer centers in relationship more than in technique, and the differences between the two parties in prayer are far more profound than the differences between two lovers.  Should it surprise us that problems arise”

P.S. I generally like to brighten up my posts with some relevant pictures.  I thought it best not even to think about Googling anything for this particular post.  So what you see is what you get this time.