There are right and wrong ways to approach and ask God just like there are right and wrong ways to approach other human beings. Prayer isn’t for selfish desires. Prayer is conversation with God. Prayer is just as much listening as it is speaking. We do much more speaking than we do listening. I need more silence in my life, not just for the sake of silence but to be able to hear God.
So how do we pray?
Scripture gives us examples of prayer as well as what we should and should not do in prayer. We also have commands to forgive before we pray. We are to pray in solitude and in secret.
Jesus ‘ greatest example of prayer is perhaps what we call, The Lord’s Prayer. It’s a staple prayer for us to learn and pray. It’s found in Matthew 6 or Luke 11.
God knows our hearts, our thoughts and our desires. There’s no escaping an omnipresent God. I always thought it strange so many people ask God to be with this person or that person when God is omnipresent! Perhaps we should shift our prayers to asking for God’s will to be done in a person’s life instead of asking God to be with them. God is already with us.
One thing I know is God loves us, each and every one, regardless of our sloppy prayers. God longs to hear from us, spend time with us and connect to us. This is done in prayer. We can pour out ourselves to God in prayer. It’s appropriate to share even our raw emotions with God. It’s right to ask God for help. It’s fine to ask for our daily bread and for forgiveness. It’s awesome to take part in praying someone into God’s family. These things are all things God wants.
We err in praying for revenge, for riches or for a certain someone to fall in love with us. These are all examples of prayers that are inappropriate. I’m guilty of all these in my younger years. Now instead of praying for revenge I hand that person over to God and ask God to act in their life. Instead of praying for riches I thank God for what I have. And that last one? Do we really think God will control another person and make them fall in love with us?
Let’s spend some time thinking more about how we pray. Let’s be intentional. Do I have to wonder if God wants me to pray for someone to come to faith? No, God always wants this. Some things should always be in our minds to pray. God desires to bless us, but many times these blessings aren’t exactly what we had in mind!
Does this verse mean belief is the secret to having God’s power? I can pray for a million dollars and if I believe in that enough it will be mine? This verse has been used in exactly that way before even in certain Christian circles. Can you imagine the pain this has caused? My son died because I didn’t believe enough when I prayed? My daughter is making wild, sinful lifestyle choices because when I prayed I didn’t have enough belief. When we stop to really think about this verse some huge questions arise. Prayer isn’t for us to control everything around us. Can you imagine trying to work out all those prayers if you’re God? Each human being throwing out all their wants to you and many of them contradict one another! Two people who hate each other praying for the other to die. Does God grant the wish of the one who believes the most?
Asking, prayer, abiding… only those who abide in Christ know how to ask. Of course, anyone can ask but those who abide share God’s desires. They are called to live the life God has laid out for them. This kind of praying is deep. It’s connected to the Kingdom. It’s not even from this world. Those who abide know this place. They have experienced the deep pain that only God knows and sees. Those who abide also know God is alive and well and listens. God guides and directs those who abide. Those who choose not to abide do not understand. Here’s the verse that precedes this verse:
Never stop praying, how do we do this? I don’t think this means all we do is pray. We are to be active in our lives but we can pray as we go along throughout our day. We can have a continual conversation with God who is omnipresent. God is with us whether we acknowledge this or not. When we don’t connect with God throughout our days we miss out on all God desires to give us. God is good. God will give us what we need. We lack many times because we do not pray.
Some seasons of life are harder than others. I find myself praying more in the difficult times. When I engage in prayer in those hard times I am on guard watching and waiting for change, healing or whatever I’m praying for. After releasing my petitions before God I often find myself expressing gratitude just like the Psalmist does as each Psalm, especially the laments, have what’s called a vav adversitive. It’s a tiny word that acts like a hinge. Psalmists cry out to God with many serious problems. They write many verses of pain, sorrow, fear and frightening things. After this is expressed to God the tone changes and flows into gratitude.
