In a previous[i] article, we framed scrupulosity as the devil’s sinister shell game through which he manipulates our own propensities against us. The ultimate consequence of this process is a spiritual rip current whereby the more we try to grow toward God, the farther out we are drawn by our own extreme efforts.
The Intended Purpose and Value of Prayer
“Prayer is the raising of one’s mind and heart to God or the requesting of good things from God” [ii] It is a “vital and personal relationship with the living and true God”.[iii] Prayer is a surge of the heart;…a simple look turned toward heaven[iv] Most powerfully and beautifully, prayer is an encounter of God’s thirst and desire for us with our corresponding thirst and desire for Him.[v] It is a meeting of our love for God and God’s love for us.
St Francis de Sales is quoted as saying that everyone needs at least a half hour of prayer each day, and double that if they think they have no time. The take away of this idea is that we all need a minimal at least and hopefully much more amount of prayer each day to help us navigate our spiritual and practical lives in the spiritual warfare in which we are individually and collectively engaged. The red flag here is that while we certainly need a daily minimum of this spiritual nutrient, we must not fall into some classic traps of the devil in this area.
Six Demonic Spiritual Traps Regarding Prayer
- More is better….while it is certainly true that we are called to pray without ceasing[vi], that is more about continuity and perseverance than sheer volume. Believing that someone who prays 10 rosaries a day is ten times farther along the way of spiritual growth than one who merely prays one is obviously a foolish path to follow. The devil can use a person’s inclinations toward scrupulosity to delude them into overwhelming themselves with tons of daily prayer, which may ultimately cause them to give up or despair. Christ teaches us that scores of mindless repetitions without sincerity defeat the purpose and effectiveness of prayer.[vii]
- Regimentation is better….It is true that a certain level of discipline and structure is necessary to grow spiritually and in prayer. It is further true that setting aside specific time for prayer in the day, such as early morning, can help many people to maintain and grow and deepen their prayer life. However, prayer should not be turned into a harshly strict and compartmentalized military operation. The devil can use scrupulous inclinations to burden and weigh down the soul in a sea of self-imposed and imaginary rules and schedules for prayer. Missing the usual time you pray a certain prayer or devotion is no reason to give up or despair. Our Lord prefers sincerity and trust over superficial and fake prayer routines and schedules.[viii]
- Precision is better…..while one certainly wants to recite prayers and devotions as they are intended, prayer should not be turned into some strict dialogue or script which must be precisely followed to the tee lest its graces and benefits are totally lost. The devil can push the scrupulous into obsessing more about saying each phrase precisely and completely than in embracing the love with which prayer should be said. Remember how Our Lord reproached those who would insulate and weaponize formulaic prayer over humble, natural, and sincere expression of love and thanks. [ix]
- Prayer as a tool….we can easily fall into the trap of seeing prayer as merely some tool we use to get a desired result. This is clearly either the precipitating attitude or the resulting consequence of seeing prayers not resulting in our desired result as unanswered prayers. When we see prayer as a spiritual screwdriver, we will unwittingly define the success and even purpose of prayer as merely an answer to our desired results. Recall that petition is only one of the many forms of prayer, with the other forms being thanksgiving, intercession, praise, and adoration. If the devil cannot fully stop us from praying, he may be content with warping our prayer into just adoration of my needs and wants.
- Prayer as antiseptic, hygienic, and sterile. Some see prayer as meant to be unstained and unsoiled by human imperfection and spiritual grime. Believing that praying while working in mud, fixing plumbing, or planting flowers is somehow being disrespectful to both God and prayer itself would be an example of this thinking. Others believe that unless one is wrapped in Gregorian chants or kneeling in some perfectly silent and peaceful church, one cannot possibly pray effectively. In truth, prayer is about reaching out to and connecting with God while in the mud of human existence, not despite it. We must remember that God’s power is made perfect in our weakness.[x]
- Prayer as uniform….Scrupulosity is rooted in anordinate preoccupation and fixation on control by the individual over trust to God’s providence. Part of such control is uniformity because the perception is that greater uniformity provides greater control and less surprise. However, we know that the richness of prayer is that it can and should be diversely expressed, as in verbal prayer, meditation, contemplative prayer, etc. In truth, the power of prayer is its essence as a continual immersion and connection with God. It is that essence that allows, encourages, and transcends time and place itself, permitting prayer to be a constant essence of daily life, present in every aspect of our existence. In order to pray one only needs love of God and a burning desire to open and reach for His waiting embrace, be it while gardening, enjoying a picnic, or doing housework. The devil wants us to see prayer as a static, confined practice so that its power to traverse and immerse our lives is limited. The false narrative regarding uniformity is that it implies order and structure when, in actuality, it allows conformity, submission, and control by the winds of this distorted world. The more uniform a movement, belief, or practice may be, the more easily it can be confined, limited, and set aside. The only uniformity that matters is uniformity in Christ. Uniformity in the eyes of this world, however, given its values, is not a path to God!
How Scrupulosity Distorts and Dilutes Prayer
The devil is the master manipulator who knows our weakness and vulnerability better than we do. Many of us, myself included, are prone and vulnerable to scrupulosity. We are the type who sometimes worry far too much about the “how well” over the “why”. Perhaps, deep down, we often wonder if are overestimating our ability to overcome temptation, human weakness, and human imperfections. Obviously, that is probably because, along the way, we slip into forgetting that we can achieve great things through God’s grace. Perhaps we slip into thinking that unless we dot and cross the right letters, God will render our efforts null and void.
One time, I was faced with two devout and beautiful devotions, one intensely demanding for a relatively short period of time and the other fairly easy and convenient for a much longer period of time. Instead of choosing one over the other and being a true Type A personality, I decided to try both! This worked for a while, but ultimately, I was overwhelmed and had to quit the longer devotion, while not getting much out of either one!
Ultimately, I decided to focus on the shorter devotion instead. Beyond that, I decided not to approach that devotion as fixed within the prescribed and intended period of time it is to be practiced, but, instead, for the rest of my life. I decided to do this devotion, hoping to grow in love with Christ’s devotion slowly over time, not worrying about any prescriptions, intentions, or traditions regarding the devotion itself. I would do it because I loved Christ and his sacrifice for me, not to fulfill or achieve anything else.
While I still have a long way to go, I have found that this shorter devotion fits more naturally and easily into my daily prayer practice. It adds to my growing and evolving prayer efforts rather than being some additional burden or chore. This shorter version also allows me to grow in the other parts of my prayer life without hindering those parts.
All of this to say that scrupulosity distorts our prayer life by turning it into all about ourselves rather than simply about loving God in a growing and trusting relationship. The less we care about rattling off prayers and meditations like some grocery list to-do, the more likely we will grow in love of Christ and others. It is as simple as that.
Conclusion
Imagine yourself swimming toward the shore while carrying luggage and checking your cell phone in a rip current. It is easy to see that drowning will be a likely result of that charade. Swimming toward shore during a rip current requires you to sometimes swim parallel to the shore and most likely swim at an angle you would prefer not to have to employ. We would all like to swim straight toward our goal, but circumstances most often do not allow that. Swimming straight against a rip current will often result in you getting tired and drowning because the strong current will ultimately defeat you.
Add to the above situation, carrying luggage and checking your cell phone as noted. We cannot swim while grasping luggage, and we cannot make the best decisions while distracted by ourselves. Now, drowning is a certainty.
Christ and our sacred destiny is that shore. The current against us is this distorted world, which increasingly marginalizes God and those who follow Him. Prayer is our continuous, dedicated, sincere, and determined effort to swim toward Christ in relationship with God.
The devil knows our buttons and has no problem pressing them as often as possible. Without God’s grace, we are as lost as the swimmer above.
Only through God’s grace and our trusting desire to reach our intended eternal shore can we hope to reach home safely. If we are prone to scrupulosity, the devil will surely try to use its distortions to sink us both in prayer and our salvation. The harder we pray in the wrong way or for the wrong reasons without getting closer to God, the more tired we will become and ultimately give up.
Scrupulosity is preoccupied with self, at first supposedly in the service of piety but, increasingly, in self over God. Such a distorted focus ultimately furthers the six distortions of prayer noted above. True prayer is not about quantity over quality, regimentation, precision, using prayer as simply a tool, avoiding the harsh realities of the human condition, or empty uniformity. Prayer is profound, complex, yet sacredly simple. At its core, prayer is simply about love and not volume, self, or warped preoccupations with control.
Let us open our hearts, minds, and souls to God, trusting and loving the best friend and Father we will ever have. Let us pray without ceasing by allowing prayer to infuse our daily lives in words, actions, and reflections as the Spirit guides us daily. Above all, let us stop seeing prayer as a formula and more as the ultimate form of love!
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[i] https://spiritualdirection.com/2025/10/16/scrupulosity-the-devils-sinister-shell-game
[ii] CCC, no. 259, citing St. John Damascene, De Fide Orth. 3,24
[iii] CCC, no. 2558
[iv] St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Manuscrits autobiographiques, C 25r
[v] Cf. St. Augustine De diversis quaestionibus octoginta tribus 64, 4: PL 40, 56.
[vi] 1 Thess 5:17
[vii] Mt 6:7-8
[viii] Jn 4:23-24
[ix] Lk 18: 9-14
[x] 2 Cor 12:9
Image: Depostiphotos
