Since most Christians are uneasy talking about the struggles they or others may face in life, they have conveniently compartmentalized various aspects, such as spiritual life, prayer life and thought life. This makes it easy to not have to actually let on that the whole of their lives are filled with inner turmoil and obvious struggle.

In the anatomy of a modern Christian, "prayer-life" is the section of the brain where thoughts, feelings and time in prayer are stored. So, when one Christian asks another how their prayer life is going, they can pull up how much time they spent in prayer this morning and say "good" or "not so good."

Incidentally, this compartmentalization is hooey. If a Christian's prayer life is bad, it probably means praying is difficult at the time and they are really struggling in life. If someone ever tells you their prayer life is bad, or "not so good" give them a hug and be understanding. NOTE: It is imperative that you not suggest they spend more time in prayer, as that is, as they just told you, difficult.