My Current Thoughts on Prayer

"What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, 'He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us'?"

That’s one of those odd comments on prayer. Another is how a priest of God mistook a contrite prayer of Hannah as public intoxication. Or how about when Jonah expresses a prayer of praise after being swallowed down into the belly of a big ol' fish. Another one I'm reminded of is Jesus' prayer on unity right before the Jewish leaders take him off to crucify him. Prayer baffles me.

So. What is prayer?

Although people rarely view it as such, my prayer life is a reflection of my desire to be in the presence of God. I use to have a poster hanging in my office that said this. It hung on the backside so anytime the door was shut I would be reminded of my need to pray. Because prayer is the most unselfish thing the Christian can partake in. When I approach the throne of God in prayer it is not for me... but something else entirely.

I find Daniel’s approach to prayer to be quite unique. It is unlike any other explicit example we have in scripture:

Daniel 9:2-4 "in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, perceived in the books the number of years that, according to the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet, must pass before the end of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years. Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. I prayed to the LORD my God and made confession, saying, “O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments..."

or the more memorable one:

Daniel 6:10 "When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously."

Prayer was different for Daniel than I have often found it to be in my own life. His prayer was not only more frequent but there was this desire for him to be in God's presence through prayer. This was something so natural and regular for Daniel that everyone else knew, that when Daniel's prayer time came around, they knew where to find him.

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Here is a pretty great quote by a theologian named Kathleen Norris, "it is a paradox of human life that in worship, as in human love, it is in the routine and every day, that we find the possibilities for the greatest transformations." My life will completely change when worship and prayer become my routine.

Consider this: my marriage will suffer if I decide to have a date night once every six months. Now, it could be a reeeeally nice date. It could be the best date of our entire lives. But if become too busy in my ministry, my school work, raising our child, and place her way down on my list of priorities. If I don’t recognize her, praise her, support her dreams, do the daily task of being a husband… even if we have a great date night every six months – our marriage will suffer. The routine and every day are where we find the possibilities for the greatest transformation. Talking to the Father must be a part of my everyday.

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Lately, I've been studying spiritual types. In doing so, I have been introduced to a graph from Urban Holmes. In it, he provides four primary ways we as Christians feed ourselves spiritually. There are Doers, Thinkers, Feelers, and Mystics. I wont get into all four, but the Mystic types are those who are fed by solitude. By prayer. Who seek God only for the point of being with him. I have no doubt that King David was a Mystic type. You can hear it clearly in the Psalms…

Psalm 27:4

"One thing have I asked of the LORD,

that will I seek after:

that I may dwell in the house of the LORD

all the days of my life,

to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD

and to inquire in his temple."

Within each of these four spiritual orientations, one can develop Spiritual Rhythms. These "spiritual rhythms" are actions that we practice regularly that bring us into the presence of God. Regardless of which style you find yourself relating more to, prayer has to find its way into your spiritual rhythms.

Because it is in prayer that I praise him (acknowledging his magnificence) – in prayer I confess to him (and in that way show his authority over my life) – in prayer I remind him how much he is needed in my life (through reminding him of my needs and wants) – and in prayer I give thanks (like a child coming to realize all the things their parents do for them daily, and behind the scenes).

Henry Nouwen said, "To pray is to descend with the mind into the heart, and there stand before the face of the Lord, ever-present, all-seeing, within you." That may sound "overly spiritualized" to some as it does to me on first hearing it. But I am beginning to see a lot of truth to it. I have had only a handful of moments when in prayer I feel this type of internal congruence.

And what a moment it is. What a moment when the mind and the heart finally connect. When the things I know find rest and support in the things I feel. When I become congruent in direction and passion. In the stillness that only the Spirit provides I can communicate with the Lord.

It's really hard to find this in front of the TV. It's hard to find this in the monotony of the daily grind. It's hard to find this kind of moment in the office. It's not impossible. It's maybe even natural for some. But it is amazing what complete solitude and silence can do for the soul. It's amazing that when I become completely still, I can come before God and know him.

M. Basil Pennington (a Roman Catholic Trappist monk) said, "In prayer, we seek God. We do not seek peace, quiet, tranquility, enlightenment; we do not seek anything for ourselves. We seek to give ourselves to God. He is the all of our prayer."

Now, who’s prayer sounds like described that as described by Pennington? Who has such unselfish prayers? I doubt many of us. Is it possible to have a prayer that is so unselfish? Yes. It is attainable. I believe the only reason our prayer lives become so misguided is that as faith communities we don’t spend enough time considering prayer. Meditating on our involvement in the spiritual. We forget that the Psalmist spends the first Psalm meditating on meditating before entering into prayer to God and songs of praise to him. While slowing down and finding stillness it important in our approaching God, it's not what we are seeking.

What is your prayer life about then? Is it more about the feeling you get in communication with him (peace, quiet, tranquility, enlightenment)? Or is it about what you need from him? Or it is about him?

Recall the passage at the beginning of this post from the book of James, it's powerful but kind of upsetting. Because my prayers aren’t being answered does that mean I’m not right enough before God? It sure does read that way. I wonder... If you were to truly give up the world., what would have to change about you? What job would you quit, which possessions would you sell, what person in need would you finally surrender to?? Now let me ask you, that person, the one who did all those things, what does their prayer sound like? Is it the same prayer you and I pray?

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A final thought on prayer... We forget the power our prayers have. God has invited us to work with him through faithful living and through prayer. If we believe scripture, our prayer lives break through to the spiritual realm and act as a defense against evil.

Ephesians 6:10-19 "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel..."

My prayer life is one of the weapons against the evil spiritual forces of this world.

Now, do I benefit from the time spent with him? Yes. Infinitely more than he benefits. Does he need me to pray more than I need to pray? No. I am the one in need, this world is the one in need, I am the one who fails him daily, the one who needs protection and deliverance. Will he not act if I do not pray? Of course he will! He doesn’t NEED my prayer, but yet he invites me into the decision process. What Ephesians shows us is that our prayer lives take us to the front lines of the war within the spiritual realm. Just as God has children fighting in the spiritual realm on behalf of those in the realm of the flesh (Daniel 10), we are to live out our kingdom duty here fighting against the cosmic powers of this age.

Under the new covenant, the Christian has taken the role of priest, king, and prophet. I won't elaborate on this idea in this post, but right now let's focus on this: we have the ability, the gift, to speak to God and affect the cosmos. Just as Abraham, just as Jacob, just as Hannah, just like Mary… Your prayers bring light into dark places. Your prayers create where there was once chaos. Your prayers bring life out of death. In our prayers, you go before Yahweh God and work with him in the restoration of creation. When we assemble as churches across the world, we do so as the body of Christ, we assemble and speak to the Maker.