So I have been thinking a lot about prayer for the last few days. Truth be told, I have been struggling in my prayer life lately. Oh sure I give off the impression of piety, but when it comes down to it, spiritual discipline is hard to find in my life sometimes. It is not just that I am not praying enough (although that is a big part of it)–I feel like so often my prayers lack the depth that I know God wants from me. Prayer just feels like a pointless spouting off of requests with the occational “thank you.” I would imagine that if you are in any way trying to ciltivate a relationship with God you have experienced this as well, and the description of my life sounds way too much like yours. Even though I always do feel good after a time of prayer, it has become little more than an item to check off my list. No wonder I lack the motivation to do it often!
I really do believe that part of the problem is that I am not making the time to sit back and spend some time with God–and if you were honest, you’d probably say the same thing. Everyone is busy, but there is still time in the day that we could take away from TV, sports, or even friends that could be spent alone with God. Renewal will occur only where we want it to, but it may take sacrifice. Okay…enough with the sermon! Time for reflection…
I feel like, in addtion to a renewed commitment to prayer, I also need a new understanding of the nature and function of prayer in the life of a Christian. I am struck by the implications of passages like Matthew 6:7-8 that say: “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” So often I have thought that if I don’t mention something, God won’t know I (or whomever I am praying for) need/s it, and nothing will happen. But this passage is saying that God knows what which I need already. If that is true, why do we even have prayer at all?
Apparently the purpose of prayer is not just the presentation of requests or ideas to God. Perhaps God is merely looking at the act of presentation itself. He doesn’t need to hear the requests or present the ideas; he needs to hear us make the requests and present the ideas. Maybe what God is wanting is to see that we are turning it all over to him.
I have been reading In the Name of Jesus by Henri J. Nouwen, and he talks a lot about the idea of “contemplative prayer.” The more I think about it, the more I believe he is on to something. How often do we contemplate or meditate while praying? Almost every single prayer I have ever heard in a church service has been little more than us talking and God listening. I am not so sure that is an overly appropriate model. Maybe we should spend just as much time listening to God as we do talking to God. I am becoming convinced more and more every day that the Holy Spirit can do so much more in our lives than we let him do. Maybe God is urging us to grow from that in prayer…
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