Tag: prayer

Yep! Still asking questions about prayer. I once heard about a pastor who spent two years preaching through the book of Romans. There is no denying that there is much to preach from Romans, but for me, two straight years seems like a bit much. I’m not anticipating this series on prayer to go 104 weeks. In fact, I think next week will be the final week. Not because I’ve answered all the questions, but because I don’t want readers to sigh and think, “What? Another question?”

So here’s this week’s question. “How do we learn to pray?” Again, pretty simple. But when you dig down beyond the surface of it, I think we discover it is a much needed question. And it is not just my question. It is a question that Jesus’ disciples asked him. His response? He said, “When you pray, say: ‘Father, hallowed be your name, Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation'” (Luke 11:2-4).

We do well to listen to what Jesus said about how to pray. When I was growing up, Jesus’ words spoken here and recorded by Luke were more likely to be repeated by a football team ready to storm the field than a church on Sunday morning. Why is that? Is it because that we, or at least some of us, are a bit apprehensive about repeating a prayer that someone has already prayed and put to paper. Where’s the spontaneity? Where’s the heart in it?

But does not praying, in addition to studying, these words of Jesus to his disciples in effect teach us to pray? When we pray them back to God with our mind and heart, do they not capture our imagination? Can’t praying these few words which we call the Lord’s Prayer subtly reframe our praying as they become absorbed into the core of our very being? I feel they can!

I did mention at the start of this series that prayer is not complicated. And I still hold to that. But this doesn’t mean that our prayers shouldn’t grow and develop as we discern more fully the heart of God. Saturation and praying through and with Scripture (ie. The Lord’s Prayer) therefore, matures us in prayer. It pushes us to come before God more honest, free and bold than we might do otherwise.

So will you begin to pray the Lord’s Prayer? Will you pray it for your family? Your church? Your neighborhood? As you do, I think you will begin to discover a new depth in how to pray; a depth not made of pious “out of touch” words, but of a heart longing to know God more fully and of eyes watching and waiting to see him restore all of creation.

Leave a Comment

So we begin another round of questions concerning prayer! I started this a couple of weeks ago because I wanted to dive a bit deeper into this critical vocation of prayer we have been given by God. I use the word vocation here concerning prayer intentionally because I feel it is our “duty” as Christ followers to go before God on behalf of ourselves and on behalf of the world around us. Paul writes to those in Colossae to “keep on praying” (Col. 4:2). It’s not an optional activity.

This idea of praying being vocational, coupled with the past couple of weeks of battling with the understanding that God interacts with us as we pray, I feel we must now ask, why is prayer so hard for us? If God invites us to pour out our hearts to him, both the good and the bad, and our prayers have an affect upon us and the world, then why don’t we pray?

“American culture is probably the hardest place in the world to learn to pray,” writes Paul Miller. “We are so busy that when we slow down to pray, we find it uncomfortable. We prize accomplishments, production. But prayer is nothing but talking to God. It feels useless, as if we are wasting time. Every bone in our bodies screams, ‘Get to work.'”

Miller writes further that “one of the subtlest hindrances to prayer is probably the most pervasive. In the broader culture and in our churches, we prize intellect, competency, and wealth. Because we can do life without God, praying seems nice but unnecessary. Money can do what prayer does, and it quicker and less time-consuming. Our trust in ourselves and in our talents makes us structurally independent of God. As a result, exhortations to pray don’t stick.”

We have been duped into acting out our culture’s lie that when we pray, we really aren’t doing anything. Now I know the truth. Prayer changes things. Yet ever so slowly I’ve seen myself evolve into behaving otherwise. I’m a guy that has to be busy and prayer is…well…is it doing anything?

Productivity abounds in our world. Just consider the number of books and articles written that help expose the secret formula to how to get more done. Now I’m a believer in productivity. And I’ve benefited from many of the resources on the market these days. However, I think there needs to be a bit of pushback when our desire to be productive clouds our understanding of prayer. If Miller is right that we live as though we can do life without God, then prayer becomes a non-essential. Though we do pray at times, it is the first to be abandoned in a busy day.

When our world began to shut down due to COVID, I noticed in myself a feeling of loss in regards to how to continue the ministry I am involved in. The outreach efforts I led were stopped. The weekly Bible study gathering I oversaw had to be reworked and moved online. My schedule though still busy, was not as hectic. What was I to do? Just sit around and pray?

What was laid bare during those first weeks of apocalyptic-like shut down was my attitude of prayer as a “nothing else I can do so might as well pray” mentality. Now on the surface, I don’t think I believe this about prayer. Yet deep down I discovered something different. Something that had been formed in me via the story of the culture I live in. Thankfully, I am now working to be refashioned by another story, the Biblical story. It’s a slow work, but it’s a good work.

So what about you? Is it hard for you to pray? Why or why not? Does our hurry up and get something done culture influence you to view time spent in prayer as neglecting your being productive? What would it take for us to wake up to what God has called us to do in relation to prayer?

Can I encourage you in a couple of ways in your life of prayer? First, start slow. If you are like me and have struggled in this area, then just begin with a simple prayer in the morning and one in the evening. Nothing extravagant or lengthy. Just begin. Second, be honest with yourself and with God about your lack of discipline or motivation in praying. Humble yourself. Then realize the goodness of God as he meets you where you are. Praying is a relational journey. Yes, it takes discipline. But it’s a discipline that must not lead to empty ritual, but to a vibrant relationship with our King.

Leave a Comment