Let’s talk

Prayer is one of the most mysterious practices of the Christian faith.  We may ask many questions about it.

Why do we make requests of a God who already knows everything? 
How does prayer actually ‘work’ or should we even think about it in that way? 
Is prayer just a psychological exercise as some skeptics insist, merely a way of talking to ourselves? 
If we pray, what are best practices?

I have heard thousands of prayers and prayed even more than that! 
Some were formal with carefully prepared phrases and rich vocabulary.
Others were desperately spoken, raw, and emotional. 
Some were quiet and intimate, whispered only for the ear of God.
Some were expressions of fear, some of love, some shaped by obligation.
Some were exuberant, outbursts of praise in times of great joy.
A few were wordless – a quiet heart in God’s Presence that waited on His comfort or offered Him adoration.

If you are thinking, “Jerry, that sounds a lot like our human conversations,”  then you just got the point! Prayer is connecting and communicating with God and takes many forms, shaped by the need of the moment and the personality of the one praying.  If you know how to have a conversation, you know the basics of prayer.

Whatever our questions about prayer, this I know for sure: we must pray.  We can learn to pray in better ways, but prayer is not reserved for pastors or those of advanced years in the faith. Prayer is a privilege offered to all of us that makes us richer in the practice. 

Jesus did not say “If” you pray, He said “When” you pray.  To think about prayer only in terms of ‘answers,’ determining if we should pray based on observable results, misses the heart of prayer.  True prayer is much more than bringing our ‘grocery list’ of human needs to God everyday.  It is our spiritual lifeline through which the vitality of the Holy Spirit enters our lives and circumstances. So, just speak – using your words to start a conversation with God; doing it often!

When we grow into intimacy with the Lord, He promises this: "the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express." (Romans 8:26, NIV)  When we turn our attention to Him, even when words fail, He remains our Advocate, there with us, the Divine connecting with the human, Heaven touching earth.  The Message says it this way: "God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God."

When I pray, whether it is just a few words in a moment, or a focused time in the church’s sanctuary, I remember that I have a Meditator in the Throne Room of the Almighty!  Jesus, who knows the frail state of my humanity, stands alongside of me. "So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most." (Hebrews 4:14-16, NLT)  When I do not know what to say, He fills the gaps. When I am less than articulate, He understands. When my prayer is an overflow of emotions, I know He has felt what I feel.  Even if the only words we can find are mumbled cries for mercy, He knows the deeper need.  Moreover, He has taken away our guilt and given us confidence to come into God’s Presence. 

When I pray I know He stands alongside of me. I am shabby, without beauty,
but the majestic Lord of Glory puts His arm around my shoulders and says,
“Father, Jerry is here with this need, this cry!”

Richard Foster speaks of ‘simple prayer.’  This most basic form of prayer is not about eloquence or persuasive arguments.  It is prayer that is filled with our inconsistencies, mixed motives, sorrow, anger, joy, dreams, hopes, longings, and daily concerns.  “Let us pray!”  Yes, simple prayers, wordless prayers, groans, and laughter formed into simple prayer.

The word from the Word is an invitation - "And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. This is the new, life-giving way that Christ has opened up for us through the sacred curtain, by means of his death for us. And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s people, let us go right into the presence of God, with true hearts fully trusting him. For our evil consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water. Without wavering, let us hold tightly to the hope we say we have, for God can be trusted to keep his promise." (Hebrews 10:19-23, NLT)

God is inviting you and me this day to stay in touch!  He says, “Let’s talk!”

________

(Video of this blog at this link)

The Lord's Prayer (It's Yours)

Father let your kingdom come (holy holy)
Father let your will be done
On Earth as in Heaven (let it be done)
Right here in my heart

Give us this day our daily bread
Forgive us forgive us
As we forgive the ones who sinned
Against us forgive them
And lead us not into temptation
But deliver us from the evil one
Let your kingdom come

It's yours it's yours
All yours all yours
The kingdom the power
The glory are yours

It's yours it's yours
All yours all yours
Forever and ever
The kingdom is yours

On Earth as in Heaven
Right here in my heart

Bryan Fowler, Jacob Sooter, Matt Maher

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