Churchy Words: Prayer

We have a problem today of patience. Every generation for some time has complained about the world getting into a hurry. Typically, whenever a major technological innovation occurs, humanity divides between those who remember “the way things used to be” and those who embrace the changes. Believe it or not, many groups were fearful of the printing press and what easy access to information would lead to. Scribes Guilds were most notorious by destroying printing presses and running book sellers out of towns.

I specifically remember the 90s being characterized as “a microwave and McDonald’s” time period. Why wait for quality when you can have something now? Today, with the maturing Internet and AI’s promise of quick results, we have grown accustomed to getting what we want when we want it. If you live in the right cities, you can order from Amazon in the morning and have a drone drop it on your doorstep by the evening.

While technology has certainly brought about some wonderful changes in our world, sometimes I have to wonder if we have paid a price. While that price could be described in a number of ways, today I think we should look at the price we pay in our prayer lives.

As we continue our look at churchy words, we are going to look at the word ‘prayer’ and how our culture really struggles with a biblical view of prayer. Somehow, our lack of patience has shifted our view of prayer to something more akin to paganism than Christianity.

Allow me to explain.

In pagan religions, especially what many would call “folk religions” of the ancient world, deities weren’t worshipped for who they were, but rather what they could do for humans. One reason polytheistic religions have so many gods is because each god was in charge of some aspect of life. Worshipers would consult different gods for different purposes. Each city-state tended to have a particular deity they liked best, but they weren’t against invoking other deities as needed.

The religious rites of the ancient world looked similar to what someone might find at a voodoo gathering or witches’ coven. The priest/shaman would invoke the deities using whatever ritual was necessary, and then the people would offer their sacrifices and prayers. The prayers tended to focus on “I need you to do this or that.” If the sacrifice was pleasing, if the priest did the ceremony correctly, and everyone involved did the right actions, then it was believed the deity would perform as requested. You could get what you want/need as long as you did the correct rites.

Does this sound familiar at all?

This idea of God being more of a wish-fulfiller or cosmic ATM permeates much of our culture. One particularly humorous example comes from Young Sheldon. Mary, the mother, is upset with how her daughter, Missy, has been using her cross necklace as a lucky charm in baseball. Missy decided that if she rubs the cross on the bat and prays to God, she will get whatever she asks for—including more hits.

Mary: I’m a little concerned I’ve given you the wrong impression about how prayer works.

Missy: I get it. I ask God for stuff. He gives it to me. It’s not rocket science.

Mary: Missy! God does not grant wishes.

Missy: So, He gave me good luck?

Mary: It’s not luck. Luck is chance, and God has a plan.

Missy: Right! And His plan is to give me what I want when I pray. That’s why He’s so cool.

Mary: No…I mean He is cool, but sometimes that might not be His plan.

Missy: Then what’s the point of praying, if He’s just going to do what He wants?

Mary: You don’t pray to God to get things. You pray to build a relationship with Him.

Missy: That’s too complicated. I’m just going to keep rubbing this [cross] on my bat and keep [winning].

It’s a funny scene, but it’s also an example of blind squirrels finding a nut. Somehow the writers figured out prayer is more about building our relationship with God than getting things from Him. We are not pagans. We do not perform magic. We seek the Almighty because He is the One who not only gives stuff, but more importantly He gives wisdom and life. He desires for us to know Him and enjoy life with Him. That’s a whole different level of religious faith than what any pagan has.

Why Do We Pray?

Many of you probably have this definition of prayer: “Prayer is talking to God.” While this definition isn’t wrong, it is deficient. It is only half of what prayer entails. The other half is hearing from God.

Prayer is the means by which we turn our attention to the Lord and hear what He has for us.

Jesus said when the Holy Spirit comes, He would speak directly to us.

When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.

John 16:13

When God speaks, we are warned in Hebrews to not harden our hearts to what He has to say.

“As it is said, ‘Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.’”

Hebrews 3:15

Typically when we think of someone “hearing from God,” our natural, materialistic self jumps to “this person must be crazy.” And yet, the reality is, if you are in Christ, then you can hear from God. In fact, I would go so far to say God is always speaking to us. We just aren’t always listening.

Prayer is how we turn our attention to God, but it is also the first step in cultivating the fruit of the Spirit and righteousness that we so desperately desire. One author says it this way:

“We covet an outward life of love, power, joy, and purpose yet we refuse to practice the inward life of prayer, self-denial, and community that makes it possible.”

Joel Stephen Elies, Christ-Centered Spirituality, 180

How can we know God’s will, if we don’t spend time with Him?

How can we know God’s desires for our lives, if we never bother to check with Him?

How should we pray?

Paul tells us to “pray without ceasing” in 1 Thessalonians 5:17. Obviously, there are other tasks to do during the day besides prayer time, but the point is to have a lifestyle of prayer. The full quote is:

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

The trademark of the Christian life is joy, thanksgiving, and prayer. Without the prayer part, it will be impossible to have the joy and thanksgiving.

To further illustrate my point, let’s consider a proverb that permeates the Bible.

“You reap what you sow.”

It pops up throughout Scripture. Proverbs says,

Whoever sows injustice will reap calamity,
    and the rod of his fury will fail.

Proverbs 22:8

Paul writes,

The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

2 Corinthians 9:6

Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.

Galatians 6:7-8

This phrase is more than a proverb. It is a natural law—cause and effect. Whatever we desire from life, whether good or evil, we must sow its seeds. The harvest requires seed.

If we desire a greater relationship with God, then we must put in the time of prayer.

Even better, Jesus gave us the template for our prayer life in Matthew 6.

And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Matthew 6:5-6

Let’s pause here for the moment. Why is it that Jesus tells us to go in secret? The public prayers will receive a public reward from others who believe these public prayers are somehow more spiritual, but we know the Lord isn’t too pleased because he calls them ‘hypocrites.’ The opposite, however, is just as true. When the prayers are in secret, the Father rewards them because the Father “is in secret.”

‘Secret’ is also translated ‘hidden.’ The Greek word is kruptos or kryptos which is the same word we derive ‘crypto.’ We find the Father in the private, hidden places of life. Jesus says to go in your room (some translate it ‘closet’) to meet with the Lord because that is where we find the Lord. Christians have long advocated the discipline of solitude for this very reason. Blaise Pascal said,

One of the great causes of human misery is our inability to sit quietly in our own room.

- Blaise Pascal, Pensées

Why is it so difficult to sit and do absolutely nothing? Because once we remove all distractions, the reality of our true nature starts to set in. The things that really drive us begin swirling in our heads. It does not take long for our selfishness and natural ambitions to become apparent. To begin searching the dark recesses of our hearts and minds can be uncomfortable at best.

If we are to hear God speak, we must quit listening to everything else.

Jesus continues reminding us to Whom we are praying.

“And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

Matthew 6:7-8

Many words and empty phrases are unnecessary. The Father already knows what you need and what you will ask. The Gentiles (pagans) use many words in order to be heard. Pagan religions are prominent with incantations and mantras to invoke the deity to action. God cannot be manipulated in such a way.

Prayer will prompt God to speak to you, but His actions are based on His will, not ours.

Connected to this principle is how we pray for one another. God hears each prayer, whether it is echoed by 2 or 3 people, by hundreds of people, or by no one else except the one.

So, how do we pray?

Pray then like this:

“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.

Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

and forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation,
    but deliver us from evil.

For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Matthew 6:5-15

We begin with acknowledging the One to whom we pray. What is your view of God? Who is your Heavenly Father? In Psalm 77, the psalmist laments at night unable to sleep because of his distress. As he considers how to pray, he writes:

Then I said, “I will appeal to this,
    to the years of the right hand of the Most High.”

I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
    yes, I will remember your wonders of old.

Psalm 77:10-11
When we begin our prayer with praise, it centers our mind on the reality of whom we address.

Next, Jesus prays, “Your kingdom come, your will be done.” Prayer is not about our will. It is about God’s will. Again, we cannot make God do anything. If you pray to make God respond, you are praying like a pagan. If God is all-supreme and all-good, then we should seek His will, because His desire will be good and perfect for us. Our will is tirelessly troublesome.

Prayer is how we can tune our heart to God’s heart and mold our will to His will.

Now, why does Jesus tell us to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread”? Can we not ask for bread for the week? The month? The year?

We live in the present. The past is done—not much can be done for it. The future is not here, yet—we can prepare, but we have no guarantee of what will be. Only the Lord can redeem the past and know the future. If we have prayed for God’s will, we will know that God desires for us to be concerned with only the present. We must deal with each day as it comes.

Later in Jesus’ sermon, he will say:

“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Matthew 6:34

Paul says,

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.

2 Corinthians 4:16

When the Israelites needed bread in the desert, God permitted them to gather enough manna for the day. Anything beyond that would rot in their homes. Worrying about the future or fretting over the past is waste of energy. We are given the day, so we must make the most of it.

A more constructive prayer is to ask God, “Help me with what you have for me today.”

Then, Jesus turns to the more difficult part of prayer. We are to consider our relationships with others. The Two Great Commandments are to love God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength and to love your neighbor as yourself. The two are intertwined. As we love the Lord more, we will be prompted to love others more. As we love our neighbors more, we experience God’s work in us, and that drives us to love Him even more.

This premise is so prominent in Jesus’ teaching that he addresses the topic of reconciling with one another several times. Before we leave an offering for the Lord, we are to reconcile with the person who has angered us (or we have angered them, Matt 5:21-25). A few verses down Jesus warns that if we are unable to forgive others their trespasses, then the Father will not forgive us. Now, this phrase brings up questions about salvation, but the simple answer is simply this: if we continue to harbor anger and an unforgiving spirit, we will not experience the life God has made available to us. We may yet find ourselves in heaven, but we will spend our time on earth in misery.

Un-forgiveness will impede your prayers and your walk with the Lord.

Last, Jesus addresses the temptations that come our way. He tells us to ask the Lord to deliver us from evil rather than lead us through temptation. This particular phrasing is very interesting when we compare it to James 1.

Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

James 1:13-15

We ask God to guide us away from evil and temptation. James reminds us that temptations aren’t actually from God. They are our own doing. The Lord’s Prayer is a prayer to get us away from ourselves—to move away from selfishness and toward’s God’s goodness. And that is why it must be prayed in secret. It is in secret that we find out who we really are, and it is in secret that we can give our deepest concerns and flaws to God.

“It’s me, hi, I’m the problem, it’s me.”

With these teachings of addressing our Father in secret, how can we pray corporately in church? After all, Jesus did say His house should be a house of prayer (Matthew 21:13).

How should we pray Corporately?

“You reap what you sow” also pertains to Kingdom work. Jesus told the disciples in John 4:37, “For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’” The disciples were about to witness, and take part, in the Samaritan woman’s ministry to her hometown. Similar to how Paul would tell the Corinthians that one plants a seed, one waters, and one harvests, our prayer life isn’t always about us. In fact, if your prayers tend to be “me-focused,” you’re probably doing it wrong.

We tend to think of these passages as pertaining to evangelism, but let’s consider this metaphor of reaping and sowing to our corporate prayers. When we offer a prayer request in church or a small group, we are also making our needs known to other believers. This gives them an opportunity to ask God, “How can I be a part of answering this prayer?” Consider how John describes true love.

By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.

1 John 3:16-18

As we consider how we pray, let us also consider what we are praying for. If we truly want to see God’s Kingdom come, His will be done on earth as it is in heaven, then we must recognize the fact that means God’s people must step up to be the answer to someone’s prayer.

As we pray for the sick, let us consider how we can help bring healing.

As we pray for the lost, let us consider how we can go and tell them the Good News of Christ.

As we pray for the needy, let us consider how we can fulfill those needs.

As we pray for the weak, let us consider how we can give them strength.

Because the reality is, when we bring our prayers to the Most High God, and we are willing to listen to His response, there is a strong chance He will tell you to act. Lip service is never enough for God. He calls us to action.

One last verse for today. Look at our theme verse for the year.

And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

Acts 2:42

The health of a church depends on her prayer life. Ask yourself these questions.

How can we have a meaningful time of prayer?

What needs to change in my priorities?

Who do I need to forgive so that I can hear from God again?

Who do I need to seek forgiveness from?

What requests have I heard that I can help fulfill?

God is not calling you to fix everything. But He will call you to do at least one thing.