Prayer Part II

Persons who have decided to become followers of Jesus begin to think immediately of individuals they love, friends they value and relatives who have not yet made that decision or are not seriously following through on it. Sometimes they are the only person in an entire network or community who has made the commitment to be a follower of Christ. This large group comes to their mind right away. It is only natural (and spiritual) to have a deep yearning to share faith with the people that are important in their life. The first step is to begin to pray for these individuals.

God invites us to communicate with Him. God created humans like Himself intending to communicate with them. “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness.’” (Gen. 1:26, NASB) The Contemporary English version reads, “God said, “Now we will make humans, and they will be like us. We will let them rule the fish, the birds, and all other living creatures.” In the Garden of Eden, God came in the evening to walk and talk with the people He had made. They looked forward to their time with God. However, when they believed the serpent’s lies and did what the Serpent wanted instead of what God had asked them to do, the relationship was broken. Adam and Eve became afraid and hid from God. Sin divided.

God came and found them. He helped them by making clothes for them. He escorted them out of the garden away from the tree that would make them live forever in sin. And most importantly, He promised salvation and a reunion. Humans could no longer speak face to face with God, but God provided a way they could still communicate with Him. Through prayer they—and we—could still talk and walk with God. His promise of Jesus would make a relationship still possible.

John called Jesus “the Word,” meaning the same creative power that spoke the world into existence. “In the beginning was the one who is called the Word. The Word was with God and was truly God. From the beginning the Word was with God. And with this Word, God created all things.” (John 1:1-3, CEV) “The Word was in the world, but no one knew him, though God had made the world with his Word.” (John 1:10, CEV)

God’s Word, Jesus, has power—creative power. By speaking, God created the world. God’s words, God’s thoughts still have power. God still creates good in the world. Positively changed lives demonstrate God’s creative power. We can partner with God, joining in His creative work through communicating with Him in prayer.

Although Jesus went back to heaven physically, God wants to live with us. “…If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him, and make Our abode with him. (John 14:23-24 NASB) God wants to be with us through prayer. Even though we can’t see God now, prayer brings God into our lives.

Come and Eat

“Come and eat.” It’s possible to respond to words like this by only noticing our own appetite and the food on the table. We can “come and eat” without responding to the speaker’s tone of voice, atmosphere, or heart. But if we do that, we can miss a lot about ourselves as well as the speaker. The way “Come and eat” is said may be alerting us to thoughtfulness, or thoughtlessness, that needs or deserves attention. By tuning in to the heart of the speaker we can begin to hear the extraordinary in the ordinary—“Come and eat” may be expressing nurturing love that is as life-giving as it is routine!

The Bible is a collection of God’s words to us through prophets, priests, and poets. We choose whether or not to tune into the heart of God through these words. Some people choose not to enter the mind and heart of God. These people seem to think it’s better to just quote the words God said, or the Bible writer said, and then discuss those words. Apparently they don’t think it’s possible, right, or safe to approach and enter the mind and heart of God.

Others are downright relaxed about entering the heart of God. It’s as if some are trying to defend holiness by staying away; others seem quite sure holy ground was meant for picnics.

Somewhere between those two extremes, or perhaps by accepting them together as a necessary paradox, we can and must approach and enter the mind and heart of God. It’s not enough to multiply words about the Word. The Author engages us, and awaits our response. It’s unthinkable that God is a defenseless Child awaiting a parent’s profound love; a passionate Lover awaiting union with a spouse; a wise Parent awaiting a child’s adoration; a faithful Friend awaiting the joys of communication with a friend. But God is that Child, Lover, Parent, and Friend. And prayer is love’s response. Prayer is love’s response to Love. And we can hardly respond to Love if we don’t enter the heart of the Lover.

We can’t fully know the mind and heart of God. What we can know of the mind and heart of God is not transferable to others. But we can know that the mind and heart of God are laid bare for each of us, and we are drawn, allured, enticed, even begged to respond. Divine love made vulnerable—it’s unthinkable and true.

In order to approach and enter what God thinks and feels about prayer, we need to see again, hear again—to some degree know again in our minds and hearts—this vulnerability of Divine Love.

Another way to say it is: God started it. When kids are fighting and called to account, each is likely to point to the other and say, “She started it.” “He started it.” In the case of Divine Love, which includes wrestling if not fighting, there is no question. God started it. Being really clear about this is an important foundation for all that prayer is and all it can become for us.

The Prayer to End All Prayers

In Revelation 4 we are given an awesome and awe-inspiring vision of worship as it is in heaven. Artists have tried (and failed) to give any conception of what John saw. His words, too, fail. We

can’t imagine it. But there are some words there that we do understand.

“You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.”(vs. 11)

This is the greatest prayer there is. It’s a Thank You, but it includes at its heart the recognition that we are unworthy and often fail (I’m Sorry), that we need Help, and that all we Will or can do will come from Him who sits at the control center of the universe, seen and unseen. It’s completely unbelievable that this Being could possibly want to talk with you and me. But He does! He said so.

“Come, let us reason together,” He said. (Is. 1:18)

“If you lack wisdom, ask,” He said. (James 1:5)

And, believe it or not, just a few chapters later, in Revelation 19, we’re invited to that great heavenly worship, and to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. But only if we know Him. The way we get to know Him is by responding to His invitation now, here, today.

Prayer from the Heart

The prayers from the Bible, which we’ve been looking at, show us the attitude that God loves to see. Hannah may have had anger and petty feelings towards Peninnah, irritation or anger with Elkanah, and perhaps guilt and shame as well. She was human, so she probably did. But, while she told God the truth, those were not the central emotions in her heart when she came to Him for help. She was looking out of her situation by faith, and reaching up to grasp God’s hand. She was praying for what she wanted, not for what she didn’t want.

Jesus was definitely grappling with fear and desperation none of us will ever taste. What if he couldn’t come back? The second death was permanent. What if this was truly the end? He showed his emotions honestly to his Father, but the central ingredient, the vital one, was faith. “Your will be done.” He came out of the garden with the battle won. The rest was just getting it over with. In fact, after that, his attention appears to have been more on Pilate, the women in the road, his disciples, his mother, the dying thief, and even the centurion than on himself or his feelings.

And Habakkuk? First he takes his stand. He waits on God, watching for the answer he knows will come. And God does answer. All of chapter 2 is his answer, and it ends with a call to silence. “The Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him.”

Silence could be a category all its own, but any of the four can be prayed in contemplative silence, even “Help.” Habakkuk’s silence must have been productive, because all of chapter 3 is a song, “To the choirmaster, with stringed instruments.” And the climax is in verses 17-19. If you read attentively, you will recognize these fig trees, vines, flocks and fields as reminders of the great Covenant Promises in Deuteronomy 28. Habakkuk is saying, “Even if the very covenant of God appears to fail, “yet I will rejoice!” That’s amazing. That only comes from the heart.

Bible Examples of Prayer

We’ll study some examples of prayers in the Bible and see which of the four categories they fit into.

Hannah—Samuel is one of the most famous Old Testament prophets. Two fairly long books tell the story of his life, and of the first kings of Israel and Judah,—kings that Samuel anointed before God for their positions. Yet, humanly speaking, Samuel wasn’t supposed to exist.

The first book, 1 Samuel, begins with the familiar story of Hannah, the beloved but childless wife, who begs God for a son. To her eyes, her situation seems impossible. She is without honor in her society, in the eyes of the rival second wife, and in her own eyes. It is important to note that Hannah is not without honor in the eyes of her husband, who loves her. Still, he wanted children enough to take a second wife. So Hannah has taken her desperate case to the God of hosts, to the tabernacle at Shiloh.  Her prayer is recorded in verses 11-16.

“O Lord Almighty, if you will only look upon your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head.”

In which category is this prayer? There are two, actually. It’s obviously a heartfelt Help prayer, but it also includes “I will.” We humans do this frequently: “If only you will [fill in the blank], I promise to [fill in some unrealistic promise, often including “I’ll never ask for your help again.”] Silly! If God believed you, he certainly wouldn’t say yes, because He wants you to come back and ask for help again!

But Hannah, we know, was praying from the bottom of her heart, and she did follow through. And so we have two books of the Old Testament named after her son, and filled with stories of the mighty deeds of the Lord of hosts he and his mother served. She also prayed a Thank You so beautiful that it’s been preserved for millennia, (2:1-10) and was imitated in some ways by Mary, the mother of Jesus, in her song of thanks and praise.

What if God’s answer had not been yes? Obviously, the Old Testament, not to mention Hebrew history, would have been drastically different, but what do you think Hannah’s response would have been? Would she have given up her faith? Would you?

Jesus—Matthew 26, Mark 14, and Luke 22 all record Jesus’ prayer in Gethsemane. This is the greatest and most important “Help!” and “I Will” of all time. It certainly took more time and probably included a lot more words than we have recorded, but it had basically only two pieces:

“Help! Save me!”

“Your will, not mine.” Which means, “I Will.”

And he did.

And he didn’t have to.

What if he hadn’t?

This time we’re looking at infinitely more than a change in history. Human history wouldn’t have even continued. Wouldn’t have begun, in fact, if God had not been a God of love, a God with a Plan. Without that prayer on the bloody, sweaty ground of Gethsemane, we wouldn’t be having this discussion of prayer.

Habakkuk—Habakkuk’s complaints (Hab. 1:2-4 and 1:12-2:1) and the Lord’s answers (Hab 1:5-11 and 2:2-19) get into deep and far-reaching issues. Individual happiness, national welfare, the honor and glory of God are all involved. Which of our four categories can we find here? They are all here, in some form. It’s certainly a cry for Help, it includes praise and recognition of God’s greatness, which comes under the Thank You category, recognition of the sinfulness of the people, though it doesn’t specifically state an apology, and ends with an “I Will.”

“I will take my stand to watch,” Habakkuk says, “and station myself on the tower, and look forth to see what he will say to me, and what I will answer concerning my complaint.” (2:1) This brings us to the most important factor of prayer that we need to consider: attitude.

Kinds of Prayer

It was once said that if you only ever said one prayer in your life—“Thank you”—it would be enough. The person who said this was making a point about how incalculably, incredibly much we owe God, just for creating us, creating this world, blessing us in numberless ways daily. Of course there are some other helpful kinds of prayers, but it’s surprising how few categories they can fit into.  Here are four that include most prayers, from Bible times until today.

“Thank You!”—It’s true that this should be prayer number one, and the one we use the most, yet it often is neglected in favor of “Gimme,” which isn’t even a valid category. Praise, which is actually different from thanksgiving, can still be included in this category. Praise is recognition of God’s innate greatness and goodness and the favor God shows us, though we don’t merit it. Thanksgiving is recognition of the specific acts that show God’s greatness. Neither receives nearly the acknowledgement it ought to from us.

“I’m Sorry!”—This should probably be number two on our prayer lists, used nearly as often as Thank You. In fact, it can be closely followed by a Thank You—for forgiveness and grace. It’s a daily necessity in most fumbling human lives.

“Yes, I will.”—This is a prayer of obedience, a prayer of willingness and consecration. It sometimes comes in the form of “Send Me,” but may not be a sending away; in fact it probably isn’t. It’s usually a sending into your ordinary day, your ordinary life, your ordinary family, your ordinary job. “Yes, Lord, I will. Send me.” But the minute after this prayer, you’ll likely need the fourth and last category . . .

“Help!!”—This is, in fact, by far the most-used of all prayers, and in one sense, that’s OK. We’re frail and faulty, and we get confused a lot. God is happy to come to our rescue, and we couldn’t begin to count the times He has, most of them completely unknown to us. The problem is, we get it confused with that false “Gimme” category above, as in “Help me get this job, house, car, mink coat, winning score …” and it goes downhill from there.

Valid uses of help prayers are in any kind of difficult or desperate situation, small or large, and right after saying “I will,” and discovering the shocking limitations of your ability to do whatever it was God asked you to do and you so blithely promised.

Prayer

“Everybody knows that.” Ever talk or think that way? When we do, it’s a way to acknowledge a “given.” Baseball, apple pie and motherhood are “givens” in America, just like hockey night in Canada.

In Christianity, prayer is a given. Everybody knows that prayer … How would you finish that sentence? What is it every Christian knows about prayer? More specifically, what do you know, and therefore think and feel about prayer?

What you think and feel about prayer makes a mighty big difference. It’s the difference between a doctrine and a dynamic, a belief and being. It’s the difference between a given and grace. A doctrine, a belief, or a “given” is not enough. There must also be a dynamic. It takes being; it takes grace.

Baseball, apple pie, and motherhood aren’t necessarily great just because they’re given. Neither is prayer. But when prayer becomes a dynamic that involves your being and gets you actively involved in the grace of God—then it’s great.

How might you discover whether prayer is great for you? Where would you look to discover what you feel about prayer? In the Bible? In your heart? In your being? Would you sort through your thoughts? If so, how would you do that? The mention of prayer sends some people back—often back quite a few years—to a time when they were in a life-threatening situation, and they prayed and their life was spared. Some people recall a time when they prayed for someone else, and it came out just as they hoped and prayed it would.

For years I had heard and read about an outstandingly courageous and decorated veteran. Finally, there came a day when I got to hear him in person. As I listened I heard about his past. It was glory retold. But the fire was gone—the fire that lights the life of people of any age—but especially the youngest and the oldest. Neither the glory nor the decorated veteran seemed very present at all. It was depressing.

Hearing prayer stories can be like hearing that decorated veteran. Once upon a time we may have experienced a wonder-filled, dramatic answer to prayer. But if the fire is out, there’s no point in retelling yesterday’s glory. In order to discover what you think and feel about prayer, come into the present. Be present to yourself, to others, and most of all to God. When you are present in the present, then you can let the past and the future add fuel to the brightly burning present. What you actually think and feel about prayer begins right here, right now, with today’s hope, fear, grief and joy; and most of all with today’s God, the One who is always I Am. What do you think, what do you feel when you hear the word prayer?