A few thoughts on prayer
Pastor John is preaching about prayer all month. This got me thinking about prayer, too, so I thought I’d share a few things I’ve been thinking about.
Prayer is such a privilege. We get to talk to the Creator of the Universe any time we want to! That’s truly mind-blowing. But prayer is also misunderstood. Manipulated. Misused and, to stick with the “M” theme, a complete mystery.
I like that Pastor John said prayer is “Just talking with God”. That’s my favorite definition of prayer. Prayer is simply a conversation. It’s just talking to God and telling Him your heart, your concerns, your requests. It’s a conversation. And yes, I mean that in the truest form of the word “to converse”. Prayer is us telling stuff to God. Then, in the quiet spaces between our words, when we close our mouths and open our hearts to listen, it’s also God talking back to us.
Sometimes, I admit, that part of prayer is hard. It’s sometimes tough to hear God’s non-audible words.
But God does talk to us. Through His Word, Scripture. Through people, giving us sound, godly advice, and through the nudging of the Holy Spirit. When you feel an urge to call someone you haven’t thought about in a long time just to say hello…that’s quite possibly the Holy Spirit wanting you to reach out with kindness. When you’re tempted to respond in anger to someone who frustrated you and you know, you just know, that you need to keep your mouth shut…well, that’s the Holy Spirit, too. He’s an equal opportunity nudger, telling us things to do and things not to do!
Prayer is manipulated when we use it like the hypocrites in Jesus’ example in Matthew 6, verse 5. “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others.” In that case, prayer is being used to show off. I know I’ve been in group prayers in the past when, instead of listening to others praying (and therefore being respectful and unified) I’ve been sitting there thinking of the right words to say when it’s my turn. Prayer ought not to be a chance to show one’s spiritual depth, but rather a chance to show one’s dependence on God and His Spirit.
The misuse of prayer happens when we say things like, “How can I be praying for you?” as a way to get the gossip or to curry favor. Again, I’ve been guilty of this. It’s all about motivation. Am I wanting to pray for someone to impress them? Or do I want to pray for them because I care for them as a fellow-sojourner in this thing we call our Spiritual journey.
And as for prayer being a mystery, I think that’s just basic to the whole concept. Why God even wants to hear from us, can hear us all at once and is impacted by our words is a mystery to me! But he does desire that we talk to him. There are so many verses, but 1 Peter 5:7 comes to mind, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” And Romans 8:16 tells us that he even helps us to pray. “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.”
He listens to us when we pray, he helps us to pray when we don’t have the words, and he even is swayed, sometimes, by our prayers. There are several instances we see in the Old Testament of God changing his mind. For example, when Lot and Moses petitioned him to relent and not send the calamities he had planned.
And even in the New Testament, Jesus relents when he doesn’t seem to be planning to help the demon-possessed daughter in Mark 7 until her mother petitions him and he does as she asks.
Prayer, no matter how mysterious, works. One of my biggest changes in the way I pray these days is that instead of praying, “Lord, please be with so-and-so in this situation” I’m saying, “Lord, thank you that you’re with so-and-so in this situation.” That awareness of His presence feels so good to me! To acknowledge that He is with us…not to ask that he be with us because I know He already is. That’s been a huge encouragement to me as a pray-er.
So there you go. A few thoughts on prayer as I look out at the snow this morning and fervently hope (pray!?) that we’re all safe out there on the roads in this wintery weather.
Prayer is such a privilege. We get to talk to the Creator of the Universe any time we want to! That’s truly mind-blowing. But prayer is also misunderstood. Manipulated. Misused and, to stick with the “M” theme, a complete mystery.
I like that Pastor John said prayer is “Just talking with God”. That’s my favorite definition of prayer. Prayer is simply a conversation. It’s just talking to God and telling Him your heart, your concerns, your requests. It’s a conversation. And yes, I mean that in the truest form of the word “to converse”. Prayer is us telling stuff to God. Then, in the quiet spaces between our words, when we close our mouths and open our hearts to listen, it’s also God talking back to us.
Sometimes, I admit, that part of prayer is hard. It’s sometimes tough to hear God’s non-audible words.
But God does talk to us. Through His Word, Scripture. Through people, giving us sound, godly advice, and through the nudging of the Holy Spirit. When you feel an urge to call someone you haven’t thought about in a long time just to say hello…that’s quite possibly the Holy Spirit wanting you to reach out with kindness. When you’re tempted to respond in anger to someone who frustrated you and you know, you just know, that you need to keep your mouth shut…well, that’s the Holy Spirit, too. He’s an equal opportunity nudger, telling us things to do and things not to do!
Prayer is manipulated when we use it like the hypocrites in Jesus’ example in Matthew 6, verse 5. “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others.” In that case, prayer is being used to show off. I know I’ve been in group prayers in the past when, instead of listening to others praying (and therefore being respectful and unified) I’ve been sitting there thinking of the right words to say when it’s my turn. Prayer ought not to be a chance to show one’s spiritual depth, but rather a chance to show one’s dependence on God and His Spirit.
The misuse of prayer happens when we say things like, “How can I be praying for you?” as a way to get the gossip or to curry favor. Again, I’ve been guilty of this. It’s all about motivation. Am I wanting to pray for someone to impress them? Or do I want to pray for them because I care for them as a fellow-sojourner in this thing we call our Spiritual journey.
And as for prayer being a mystery, I think that’s just basic to the whole concept. Why God even wants to hear from us, can hear us all at once and is impacted by our words is a mystery to me! But he does desire that we talk to him. There are so many verses, but 1 Peter 5:7 comes to mind, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” And Romans 8:16 tells us that he even helps us to pray. “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.”
He listens to us when we pray, he helps us to pray when we don’t have the words, and he even is swayed, sometimes, by our prayers. There are several instances we see in the Old Testament of God changing his mind. For example, when Lot and Moses petitioned him to relent and not send the calamities he had planned.
And even in the New Testament, Jesus relents when he doesn’t seem to be planning to help the demon-possessed daughter in Mark 7 until her mother petitions him and he does as she asks.
Prayer, no matter how mysterious, works. One of my biggest changes in the way I pray these days is that instead of praying, “Lord, please be with so-and-so in this situation” I’m saying, “Lord, thank you that you’re with so-and-so in this situation.” That awareness of His presence feels so good to me! To acknowledge that He is with us…not to ask that he be with us because I know He already is. That’s been a huge encouragement to me as a pray-er.
So there you go. A few thoughts on prayer as I look out at the snow this morning and fervently hope (pray!?) that we’re all safe out there on the roads in this wintery weather.
Posted in prayer
Posted in prayer, what is prayer, how does God talk to us?, mystery of prayer, minunderstood prayer, misuse of prayer, privilege of prayer
Posted in prayer, what is prayer, how does God talk to us?, mystery of prayer, minunderstood prayer, misuse of prayer, privilege of prayer
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