Putting off until tomorrow what we should do today seems to be inherent to our sinful nature. Whether it's cleaning out the garage, paying the bills, or starting a diet, we know we should start today; but for some reason we continue to put it off until the next day, and the next, and the next. Once we fall into this pattern, it continues day after day, week after week, year after year. It wouldn't be so bad if we could contain this behavior to just our exercise or diets. But procrastination shows up uninvited to all the other areas of our lives. Before we know it, it has made its way into our prayer lives.

What a tragedy it is to wake up ten years later, still praying about obeying God's call from a decade ago. But this happens more often than you might think. God calls, and instead of acting we pray. And we continue to pray until we can't even remember when he originally called us.

It's easy to justify using prayer as procrastination; the goal really is to do what God has called us to do—just tomorrow. Yes, we will apologize—but we'll do it tomorrow. Yes, we will tithe—but we'll do it tomorrow (when we have enough money). Yes, we will take that new job across the globe—but we'll do it tomorrow (when a raise is certain).

Yes—but always tomorrow. Saying yes for tomorrow makes us feel spiritually safe. We justify our obedience because we technically haven't said no to God. It's not as if we're running, like Jonah did when he was called to preach to the wicked people in Nineveh (Jonah 1). We will go to Nineveh, God, but we'll do it tomorrow. We haven't refused God—technically. But obedience by technicality is missing the point entirely.

If we were honest, we wouldn't want God to use technicalities with us. Do we want prayers answered technically? When we're praying for a new job, do we really want just any job? When we're praying for a spouse, do we really want the first person who says hello? When we're praying for those who truly matter to us, do we really want a technical blessing? The answer to all these questions is no. Of course we don't. We pray knowing that he knows us inside out, that he is intimately acquainted with our souls, and that he will act in the way that is best for us—not just giving an answer that covers the bare minimum like a genie might. So why do we try to convince ourselves that we're acting according to God's will when we say, "Yes, but tomorrow"?

One of the reasons we procrastinate is that we don't trust God. If we believed that his decision really was best for us, we would act on it today, not wanting to wait one more day. If we're honest with ourselves, we don't think that repairing that broken relationship will be worth it. We don't believe it's best to raise our kids in that country. We truly don't trust that starting a church will matter. We want to say yes so we can remain obedient; so we choose to continue to pray about it instead of acting. But when we do that, we are misusing prayer as procrastination.

Don't Let "I Don't Know How" Stop You

When I was younger, I wanted to play guitar. I would see others play and wish it was me. There was a big problem though: I didn't know how to play the guitar. I wanted to, but I didn't know how. Then, one day, a light bulb lit up. It seemed that all the bands I loved and the guitarists I admired also didn't know how to play the guitar at some point. No one came from the womb playing guitar. They all had to learn from scratch. That was such a freeing thought. At some point in time, they all wanted to play guitar but didn't know how.

Think about it. There was a time when the Wright brothers couldn't fly a plane. There was a time when Abraham Lincoln had no idea how to be president. There was a time when Leonardo da Vinci had yet to use a paintbrush. There was a time when William Shakespeare had no clue how to write. There was a time when Steve Jobs didn't know what a computer was.

The same is true for whatever it is God is calling you to do. If you don't know how to do it, that's okay. Neither did others who answered the call. Not knowing is actually a rite of passage to accomplishing something big. So how does one go from not knowing to knowing? It's simple. By doing.

I eventually learned how to play guitar by buying a guitar and practicing it every day. Praying about it didn't help. Looking at the guitar didn't help. Watching TV didn't help. Buying guitar picks and strings didn't help. It was only when I picked up the guitar and started strumming and plucking strings that I started to learn.

The Wright brothers actually had to build a plane before they learned how to fly. Andy Stanley had to stand in front of people and teach. Donald Miller had to sit in front of his computer and start typing. Not knowing how to do what God has called you to do isn't a valid excuse. We all have to learn, and the best way to learn is to do. You can pray all you want for God to show you how to do something, but if you really want to learn, it's time for you to take a jump.