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My wife and I are teaching grade 1 Sunday school for the month of April. As always, we were about to begin the class in prayer when one of the boys exclaimed, “But I already prayed today”. I always appreciate the kind of honesty that comes from the mouth of a child. Instead of chastising the lad, I asked the class how they would feel if their best friend ever told them, “I don’t want to talk to you right now, because I already talked to you today.”
They thought it was funny.
I’m not sure why, but I get laughed at a lot. Whether it’s a curse or a blessing, I’m not entirely sure. I don’t mind being a Christian court jester of sorts, so long as I have the opportunity to be used for the glory of God.
Whether we’re as forthcoming as the boy or not, I often have the sense that we tend to carry a lot of misconceptions about prayer. Well, I do anyway. Have you ever considered praying for something and asking yourself the question, “Will it work?” Does prayer ‘work’? On different occasions, I’ve heard other believers say that prayer ‘works’.
What is behind that statement? If I say that prayer ‘works’, what am I communicating? Tell me if I’m way off base. When we ask whether or not prayer ‘works’, the question we’re really asking tends to look more like this: “Will I get what I ask for?”
I’m a big “Prayer Works” kind of guy, although I don’t believe we always get what we ask for. My kids are using the DVD player right now. It plays DVD’s. It works. When I say that it works, I mean that it plays DVD’s. So when I say that prayer works, I’m saying that when we pray we really are communicating with God. ‘Prayer’ and ‘asking’ aren’t supposed to be synonymous.
Overall, I’m really not convinced that we as believers really appreciate the relationship we have with the Father through Christ our Lord. Prayer tends to be more of an obligation than an opportunity than a direct line to the Supreme Being of the entire universe.
I don’t set the standard for an acceptable prayer life. However, as a family, we do make time each evening to read the Bible together, talk about our lives and to pray. We have prayed for a lot of things as a family. Some of the things that we have asked for have been answered kindly. We really believe that God has healed some of our loved ones and brought us through some significant trials. There have been many things that we have asked for where God said “No”. We have lost friends to cancer, and watched as marriages fell apart despite our pleading.
As a family, we’ve gathered around to pray over each other for many things; from sickness, weird fleshly growths to hearing voices. I asked them this week, “What would it be like to grow up in a family that doesn’t pray for you?” My twin boys were the ones to respond.
The first said, “It would be like I wasn’t loved.”
The second followed saying, “It would feel so alone.”
I’m not here to check up on your prayer life. I’m here to ask the question, “Did it work?”
PS Actually...I kind of like when I make people laugh.
I'm praying about many things right now. God is stretching my faith in ways right now that He hasn't before. He's asking me to do things I always said "No" to until now. At a very inconvenient time. Or so it seems to me. I suppose it's only His perfect opportunity to show Himself strong. At first, I thought it was radical faith. In reality, it's only obedience to His Word, taking Him at His Word, trusting that He will do what He promised He would. He knew we would doubt when it didn't make make sense. That's why He said "put me to the test". I might not get what I "want" right now, but I trust He will give me what I need.
ReplyDeleteIt's a good thing you like to make people laugh especially when you do it without trying. Humour is a great way to teach.
ReplyDeleteAs for prayer, I don't really ever say "amen" when I'm done praying because I figure my conversation with God is never really over. I talk to God, in my head, on and off all day long. I ask Him questions about the world He created, the people He created (I do that a lot) and what I should be asking for in life rather than what I think I need. And yes, prayer has "worked", as in I got the answer I wanted, thousands of times in my life. But just as often, I get told "no" or "not yet". :)
Of course, in a way, obedience to His word, taking Him at His word and trusting Him to do what He has promised is radical faith. I'd enjoy hearing some specifics sometime.
ReplyDeleteHi Holly...in another way, 'Amen' isn't always like an ending. I think it literally means,"I agree". So in a way, after praying by ourself, it's kind of silly to say, 'I agree with myself'. All that to say....You go girl. Don't say Amen when you're praying in your head by yourself.
ReplyDeleteAh, the specifics. There's lots. Or ask me Wednesday if we have a little extra time.
ReplyDelete