Popular Christian Thoughts on Prayer: Part 1

Faith, Family, Finances and Fitness are the four pillars of a godly man that we considered at IGNITE. The next several months will feature these categories in these articles.

Today I begin a three-part series on Prayer which is the first element of Faith.

Popular Christian thoughts about prayer

There are all-star "Pray-ers"

Some people have a hotline to heaven. These saints are more effective in prayer than others. Therefore, we want to get prayer requests to them. 

However: James 5:16-18 “…The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.”

There is tsunami prayer

The more people we can get to pray will influence God to answer our prayers.

However: 1 Peter 2:5 “… you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”

Technicians

The way we pray determines the answer. If we can get emotional. If we plead and firmly claim the answer. If we fast.

Disclaimer – of course the Bible says that we need to pray believing and with faith, even with fasting. But these are not techniques – they are matters of the heart. The trap is to depend on techniques to cajole a reluctant god to answer prayer.

However: Matthew 6:6-8 "But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on
babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him." 

Then there is what I call spiritual infatuation

Pursuing self-improvement instead of transformation. Pursuing happiness instead of spiritual depth. Solving a crisis instead of meeting God in our crisis by drinking deeply from the living waters that satisfy our spiritual thirst.

John 7:37-38 “…Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him."

General evaluation

these ideas about prayer seem to focus on us. Prayer becomes a means to get God to give us what we want.
Prayer is an effort to get relief from pain and experience the enjoyment of physical pleasure. But I suggest that prayer is not about us getting God to give us what we want to have in life. Prayer is the primary means God uses to give us what he wants us to have in life. It is always God’s idea to give to us. When we were unbelievers, God gave to us in spite of our sinfulness 

"While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" Romans 5:8

"And you were dead in your trespasses and sins in which you once walked…" Ephesians 2:1
"But God being rich in mercy…" Ephesians 2:4

But I am convinced that there is so much more to prayer than getting stuff from God. Remember how Jesus prayed in the Garden the night before his crucifixion – "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me." Genuine prayer from the bottom of his heart. Prayed about himself – pain, loneliness, suffering. 

But then notice how he continued in prayer – "Not my will but thine be done" 

His prayer was dressed in the priority of the will of the Father. It was the will of the Father that Jesus would experience the agony of the cross. And he knew about the cross. He embraced this plan from the foundations of creation. But the result was that he would experience joy; of accomplishing the salvation of his people; of being enthroned at the right hand of the Father. The answer to Jesus’ prayer in the garden was not getting what he wanted at the moment.

Jesus entered fully into communication with God and experienced the fullness and richness of his relationship with God. And the result was that he received so much more than what he wanted at the moment. Prayer is God’s way of giving us what he wants. Prayer is not to be centered on us. Prayer is to be centered on God. And if we learn to focus our prayers on God, he uses our prayers to give to us. Maybe not what we want – at the moment but certainly what God wants - and in the long run it is way better than we want in the moment.

So, how do we focus on God in our prayer life?

We focus on God in our prayer life by knowing God in life. The foundation of prayer is knowing God. Prayer begins with the knowledge of God. Prayer grows as our knowledge of God grows. And by knowing God better and better, our prayers will be shaped more and more by him and his ways. And when our prayers are shaped by him and his ways, we will be more and more receptive to him. Which means we will receive from him what he wants us to have, which is the purpose of prayer.