Prayer

There are a variety of religions with a variety of beliefs and practices. One practice that appears to be common to almost all is the practice of prayer. Prayer is simply an address to God. With that kind of simplicity, what could go wrong, right? Well we could. We are human.

Scripture is rich with prayer. It is throughout. Jesus taught us to pray for those who persecute you (Matt 5:44). He said to pray expecting answers (Matt 7:7-11). He said, "Whatever you ask of the Father in My name, He will give it to you" (John 16:23). He taught that we should always pray and not lose heart (Luke 18:1-14). In the same vein, Paul said we were to "pray without ceasing" (1 Thess 5:17). Jesus said His house would be a house of prayer (Matt 21:13). Isn't it ironic, then, how much prayer has fallen on hard times in the church today?

It seems like we're not as keen on prayer as Scripture asks us to be. Could it be that we're confused about it? I think there are some critical mistakes we make in our thinking that end up causing us to miss out on prayer. For most, I'd dare say, prayer is a method of getting what we want from a divine Butler, so to speak. We should be able to just ask for stuff and He'll deliver. He doesn't, of course, because that is not what prayer is. Prayer is not our opportunity to demand from God or control God or to get our way from God. Prayer is not simply asking God for what we want.

What, then? Prayer includes many facets. It includes confessing sin. We're not seeking forgiveness as much as confessing -- agreeing with God. We're not hoping for absolution (because we already have it), but expressing, again, repentance -- turning from what God says and we agree is sin. Prayer includes thanksgiving, sorely lacking in the human race in general (Rom 1:22) and, by extension, us, too. Prayer certainly includes requests -- supplications and intercession. We pray to ask for what's on our hearts and we pray to ask God's aid and presence for those about whom we care. That would include government (1 Tim 2:1-2), enemies (Matt 5:44), and anyone else we wish. But we must always remember that the point of prayer is not to get our way. It isn't God's magic gift box. "Just do the right incantation and He will provide."

Prayer is more about communication with God. He doesn't actually need our help, you know. We aren't informing Him of things He's not aware of. We aren't raising issues He hadn't seen. We aren't offering Him ideas or solutions that He didn't know but can use now that we made the request. No. God is omniscient; He doesn't need the information we're giving Him. He wants it. He wants to hear from us. He even uses it, making us part of His work. Prayer allows us to share our thoughts with God. "Talk to Me, My child," He offers. Prayer doesn't change God, but it does change us. First and foremost, prayer continually reminds us of our dependency on God. And what could be more necessary than remembering that we are absolutely dependent on God?

Jesus taught His disciples how to pray (Matt 6:7-13), but He included other instructions. We are told to pray in line with His will. John said, "If we ask anything according to His will He hears us" (1 John 5:14). We are told to use the magic phrase, "In Jesus' name" because that guarantees it. Oh, of course that's not true, but we seem to run with that blindly, don't we? He did teach His disciples to pray in His name (John 15:16; John 16:23-27), but that wasn't by way of the proper noun by which we know Him. It was by way of His character. Pray what He wants and for His sake and it is assured. And, of course, there is faith. Jesus said, "And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith" (Matt 21:22). James said that if you doubt you shouldn't expect anything from God (James 1:6-8). Faith is essential.

"Without ceasing" is the phrase that should describe how we pray. Sadly, it rarely is. We have a lot of faulty notions about prayer, thinking that it's our way of getting what we want from God. It's not. Prayer is our communication with God. That should make it an indispensible part of our everyday existence all by itself. It is amazing that God offers to involve us in His work through use of prayer. It is astounding to suggest that He will never fail to provide what we ask for if we ask for what He intends to give us. We ought to be known as a praying people. Are we?