Christians Inner Life Issues In James Lang's Analysis

James Lang (2015) states in his article entitled An Evaluation of a Discipleship Process Addressing Christians’ Inner Life Issues that “many Christians face blockages in their quest for spiritual maturity that retard that process, which can be spiritual, emotional, and/or psychological in nature”. Life is messy and there is no one who can come to the Lord completely pure. However, that should not be a determent in striving for spiritual maturity. Lang (2015) states that “people who have been transformed by the love and grace of the resurrected Christ often carry heavy baggage into their new lives with Christ”. In order to reach maturity one has to be willing to give their extra baggage to the Lord, having faith that He will take care of everything. The Lord tells us in Matthew 11:28 that we are to “come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest”. We are also told in Psalm 55:22 to “cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken”. The Lord does not expect

Haywood and Krause (2013) point out that prayer “represents the most common form of religious behavior among Americans, with 58% of whom report praying at least once a day”. Individuals’ reasons for praying varies, along with their expectancies that the prayers will produce. There are many elements that play a role in prayer including life events, health, stress or even trauma. The way one views prayer and even the practice of prayer changes over time as people mature. For example, Hayward and Krause (2013) in their study of Patterns of Change in Prayer Activity state that “older adulthood is marked by myriad changes in social relationships and physical needs, in which religious engagement often intensifies, especially in the ways that they pray and their beliefs about prayer in general”. As one gets older their perspective of prayer