Gear for the Journey: Prayer

When I think of spiritual disciplines, do you know which ones first come to mind?  Which ones come to mind for you?  Prayer is probably somewhere at the top of the list.

So why are we so bad at it?

When people meet with me, whether over church business or for personal reasons, I sometimes ask, “How is you prayer life?”  Sometimes I get a truly honest answer indicating that it sucks.  Most of the time I get a tentative answer that, combined with body language, says that the person is disappointed in their prayer life, but too ashamed maybe to admit it.

I find it ironic sometimes that even in groups of pastors, the opportunity to pray aloud gets passed around until someone is willing to take it.  When holding a church committee meeting, I’ve got a handful of people that I can ask, off the cuff to pray for the group, but most people I have to ask ahead of time (though they can give their opinion on the smallest of details without hesitation).

Sunday was Prayer Sunday for my sermon series.  We talked about how we complicate something that is meant to be basic and simple, though probably the most mysterious of the disciplines.

Ask someone how willing they’d be to offer the “big prayer” in church on Sunday – most would be reluctant at best.  Being the person I am, I always ask why – and the reasons have to do with perceived insufficiency of words or methods.  “I won’t have the right words to say…I might not do it right…”

The good news about prayer is that it’s not about words or method.  Sure, if the Lord’s Prayer or the Rosary is a good method for you to go by, then by all means. 

Prayer is about the condition of your heart though.  Pray with openness, trust, and honesty.  Don’t lie to God or yourself and try to be someone you’re not.  If you swear in every sentence you speak, maybe some swearing would be more appropriate in your prayer than faking a different kind of speech.  We don’t have to be holy to pray – prayer makes us holy.

Second, you have to come unburdened.  Are you angry with someone?  Do you need to forgive someone or do you need to make something right?  Do that before you ever say “Dear God…”  In Mark 11, Jesus says this explicitly to his disciples in teaching them about prayer.  We have to forgive others, so that God can forgive us, otherwise we’re wasting our time.  Don’t be like the first servant in Jesus’ Parable of the Unmerciful Servant (read it here).

Third, we have to be willing to change if our prayers are to be significant.  Prayer is THE main way that God changes the condition of our hearts.  If we pray all day for God’s will to be done and his Kingdom to be on earth in the here and now, but are unwilling to change to become a part of that plan, we have missed the point.  Sometimes when you pray for the hungry to be fed, God will tell you to do the feeding!  If you pray and are unwilling to change, you’ll abandon the practice.

As a pastor, I’m discouraged by the amount of energy that’s NOT poured into prayer.  I’ve sat in important meetings and wondered if anyone there was praying for the committee, the church, or for me.  If we fail at this discipline, we are assisting in our own demise.  I truly believe that!