Prayer. Most Christians would affirm its importance and benefit, yet many say they struggle to do it (due to either time or feeling inadequate). Sunday school students blush at the thought of leading their peers in prayer, and adults avoid eye contact and shift uncomfortably in their chairs. In general, worship events are well-attended while prayer gatherings continue to bring in lesser numbers. For me, I have struggled with the concept of prayer in the sense of what and how often to pray.
As is probably the case for some of you, I was aware of what the Bible says about prayer; the disconnect came in the application. After all, God knows both what we need (see Matthew 6:8, 32) and what we are going to pray (see Psalm 139:4), yet we are still told to pray. In fact, Philippians 4:6 says to “let your requests be made known to God.” Not only that, but we are encouraged to keep praying until we receive an answer or a release to stop praying (see Luke 18:1, Romans 12:2, Colossians 4:2, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). (Note, I said an answer, not just the answer we want.)
In spite of these truths, I struggled to pray, especially specifically, about all things and to pray for them repeatedly. My mentality was more like, “I trust God heard me the first time, so I’ll leave it at that.”
Of course this was not always the case; I would still bring certain requests to the Father more than once, but it was usually accompanied by an awkward feeling of, “I’ve already prayed about this, so I’m not sure why I’m mentioning it again. I thought we are supposed to leave everything at Your feet, Jesus.”
But recently something has shifted. More accurately, the Holy Spirit has “shifted” my heart and is renewing my mind’s eye on prayer. Not only is He showing me more of its power, but the need and effect of specific, repeated prayer.
Repetition serves several purposes. Jesus attested to this truth throughout His life, both in His public ministry and private prayer life. When speaking to His disciples and large crowds alike, Jesus would repeat His words and Kingdom principles. For example in John 6:47, Jesus says, “‘Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes (in Me, meaning Jesus) has eternal life.’” In His stories of the lost, as recorded in Luke 15, Jesus uses 3 scenarios to convey the Father’s heart for every lost person (those who do not believe in Him). Same idea expressed in 3 different ways. In His teaching about the significance of our union with Him, Jesus uses the word “abide” 11 times in 17 verses (see John 15:1-17).
Prayer is also union with God, so the amount of time, and most importantly, the heart we dedicate to it directly reflects our relationship with Him.
Repetition conveys the importance of what we are hearing and saying. It is like when we try to get a child to focus on what we are telling them and we say, “Hey, hey, listen to me.” We may even grab them by the shoulders and crouch down to eye-level with them.
When we repeat our prayers, we tell God and ourselves: This is important. It reaffirms what is important to Him is what is important to us and acknowledges that He cares for us and thus wants to hear from us.
Prayer is also union with God, so the amount of time and, most importantly, the heart we dedicate to it directly reflects our relationship with Him. How often we go to Him and the types of communication we have with Him matters.
When it comes to your prayer life, ask yourself these 5 questions:
Do I only go to Him in moments of crisis?
Do I only bring Him my “big” requests?
Do I primarily go to receive or to listen?
Do I value the answers more than the One who has them?
What is my immediate reaction to prayer?
Of course, we are to bring all our requests to God, but once we do, we don’t just get up and say, “Peace out.” Instead, we linger. We linger in worship and adoration before we speak, while we speak and after we speak. We pour out our hearts and allow God to do the same.
Sit in that reality for a moment. The God of the Universe who spoke everything into being wants to speak to you. When you are His child, His ear is inclined to you (see John 9:31, 1 Peter 3:12).
Is your ear inclined to Him? What about your will?
We can learn more than our human minds could ever fully comprehend by studying Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane (also known as the High Priestly Prayer; see Matt. 26:36-46, Mark 14:32-42, Luke 22:40-46 and John 17) prior to His crucifixion, but one truth it displays is that prayer is the vessel God uses to mold our will to His.
Three times (cough, cough, repetition) Jesus asked the Father to remove the “cup” of His wrath from Him (Jesus), meaning the just penalty our sins deserve but were placed instead upon Jesus, our perfect Substitute. But rather than the Father granting Jesus’ request, He responded with what He, Jesus and the Holy Spirit had agreed upon in the very beginning: Jesus would pay the penalty for the sins of those who believe in Him.
Jesus started the prayer session with, “Father, let this cup pass before Me,” and ended with, “Your will be done, Father.”
Prayer is the best thing we can do for ourselves and others because it realigns our priorities, shifts our perspective and reminds us of Whose we are.
The Father did not force this upon Jesus, for Jesus Himself testified, “‘I lay down My life for the sheep…No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to pick it up again’” (John 15:5b, 8).
Jesus’ purpose was always to do the Father’s will (see John 4:34, 6:38). Their moment in the garden was simply the solidification and culmination of that union.
Such is the result in the bond between the Father and us when we pray. Through the intercession of Jesus and the Holy Spirit (see Rom. 8:26, 34), the Father speaks to us and we speak to Him in what is truly a magnificent, intimate, unbreakable bond. Prayer is the best thing we can do for ourselves and others because it realigns our priorities, shifts our perspective and reminds us of Whose we are.
It is also an unspeakable joy to revisit past prayer times and discover the ways God responded and how our bond with Him has grown. Prayer truly does strengthen your humility and dependence muscles; after all, these muscles are best trained and activated when on our knees.
Friend, I share all of this with you not to guilt you into praying more or the “right” way, but to invite you to see the gift the Father offers you in prayer. He is giving you direct, uninterrupted access to the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe, and He promises to act in accordance with whatever we pray that aligns with His will (see 1 John 5:14-15).
Have you neglected this gift? Have your eyes been opened to its beauty? Respond by going to the Father and talking with Him as the beloved child you are. Go to Him and listen to what He wants to say to you. And remember, the One who hears you cannot lie and He is good (see Numbers 23:19, Nahum 1:7, Titus 1:2, Hebrews 6:18, James 1:17).
References:
English Standard Version Bible. (2001). Crossway Bibles.
Commentaires