The Prayer Course
See my introduction to The Prayer Course here.
· I found the analogy of the toolbox useful. So often we consider prayer as a time to apologise, to thank, and to ask for things. This concept of utilising many different prayer tools for different purposes, and becoming a master craftsman in the art of prayer is a useful illustration.
· The permission to “pray simply” – Too often we think that we need to come before the Lord and have an essay-length prayer with lots of scriptural references, big words, or profound content. Sometimes it can be as simple as taking a moment to look around us and say, “Hey, good job on the tree, Lord!”
I remember when I was first
engaged and I would be distracted by the sparkliness of my ring. I remember
thanking the Lord for it and saying, “Lord, I just love sparkles!” (post here). At the time
I was making a particular effort to just be in conversation with God throughout
the day, rather than setting aside a specific “time for prayer”. I’m not sure
when or why that stopped but at some point, it did and I’m keen to get back to
it. At times I wondered if I was treating Him too friendly and losing my
reverential fear for the Almighty, but I was reminded that even though He is a
mighty King and Judge of the world, He is my Father, and anything I want to
talk with Him about, He cares and wants to hear, because He loves and delights
in me - even in my mundane and boring life:
“And
whatever you do, whether in word or deed,
do
it all in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving
thanks to God the Father through him”
Colossians
3:17
· The idea of role-playing before God gave me pause for thought. How many times do we put on our best voice and start our prayer with a formal salutation; “Dear God,”? How many times do we say the wrong word or stifle a yawn or sneeze, and putting on our best newsreader face, say, “Sorry about that, Lord!” – Anybody? Or is it just me?!
·
The
Lord’s Prayer – I often think of it as an actual prayer rather than a model or
template. This means that I get stuck into a rut and find myself being
complacent; just reciting words I’ve recited forever without ever giving them a
real meaning or any kind of power. The session notes for this session had a
helpful suggestion from Timothy Jones, “To cultivate a deeper prayer life all
you have to do is say the Lord’s Prayer, but take an hour to do it.” – This is
a great idea. To separate each section of the Lord’s Prayer, almost like a
heading, and using it as a prompt to pray for specific areas.
It can feel like a chore so I get bored.
Generally, I pray in bed, and I fall asleep a minute or two in, almost every
time. I feel like I pray the same prayer every night. As I stated above, I find
that our generic, recitative, or basic prayers are so dull and repetitive –
imagine if I only ever wanted to talk to my husband or friend about the same
thing every single day. I need to completely overhaul my prayer life and my
whole attitude to and understanding of prayer.
Mostly,
I thank Him for the blessings in my life, namely my children; my husband and
immediate family; and our home. I try to remember my blessings through the day
and thank God for them as and when I’m reminded of something – for instance
this morning as I was brushing my teeth, I thanked the Lord that I am fortunate
enough to have the electric to power my toothbrush, the clean running water to
rinse, and the financial provision to even purchase a toothbrush and toothpaste
where some in society simply can’t afford the luxury of being able to cater to
basic human needs.
Most
often, I pray in desperate petition for the Lord to call my husband to Himself.
I long for the day where I know that I come second in his life, only to God. It
would be true to say that my prayers for my husband’s salvation amount to the
most in terms of quantity, length, and fervency of prayer.
I
did have an awakening many years ago where I realised that I don’t need to come
to the Lord as a distant stranger or a lowly servant. I come to Him as His
beloved daughter and I think that my prayer style does generally reflect that.
Where I once felt that I had to speak in a formal, letter writing style, in
order to show Him reverence, I now feel that perhaps I might have come too far
the other side and employ too casual a tone at times.
As a child, we were taught to bow our heads and close our eyes, and clasp our hands in front of us when we pray. I have to admit that I very rarely do this now. Occasionally, when I don’t have to be alert for our three children, I’ll close my eyes but that’s more of a preventative measure as I am very easily distracted (usually by shiny or sparkly things like my engagement ring!) Depending on the fervency of my prayer, I may still adopt the typical “prayer” pose, or even kneel or prostrate myself before God. Indeed, this is where I first encountered Him as real and physical God; my face buried deep in the tear-soaked carpet, a broken and desperate young woman, pleading with Him to show me He is real, to direct me, and to save me from the suffering I was enduring when I couldn’t find a way in my own strength. To feel His loving arms envelop me and welcome me back into His fold.
I also remember as a child when I was conflicted about how to end my prayer (post here). I had heard many different sign-offs and I didn’t know which was appropriate when. Sometimes a simple, “Amen” seemed to suffice, other times people ended with, “in Jesus’ name, amen” or even, “In Jesus’ mighty name”. Other times by reciting the Lord’s Prayer, but then I wasn’t sure whether I had to say “Amen” again after the, “Forever and ever, amen” or if the first sufficed. Growing up in church but not really having a personal understanding of God, or the wisdom of a more mature Christian, is tough!
So,
no. I don’t particularly feel that there is a “correct” way to pray. I believe
that God wants to speak with us; He longs for us to call upon Him and
for us to invite Him in and share our lives with Him. I believe that He will
hear any prayer we offer up, whether we are on our knees our behind the
steering wheel on the way to work. Whether our eyes are shut and hands clasped
or we’re in the middle of washing the dishes. Whether we remember to conclude
with “In Jesus’ name, amen” or we just fall asleep mid-sentence. He will hear
us and take joy in our conversing with Him. Psalm 34:15 tells us that, “The
eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry”.
It doesn’t tell us that we must employ a specific formula, but it can’t hurt to
analyse and evaluate our method from time to time.
In
an everyday sense, I fall asleep almost every night when I try to pray in bed. This
has been a challenge for me for as long as I can remember. On the one hand, I
can’t imagine that God is angered by my falling asleep, just as I am not
angered when my children feel so comforted and safe in my presence that they
fall asleep on my chest. On the other hand, I can’t imagine that my husband
would be too pleased if I fell asleep mid-sentence every day! I suppose that
getting out of bed and kneeling might actually be useful in this situation!
It
might be worth me considering a change in my routine. Rather than thinking of
my bedtime prayer as my “main” prayer time, to set aside a specific moment
every day to just have a quick, quiet moment alone with God in prayer. One suggestion
from the session notes was to set a reminder on our phones to pray the Lord’s
Prayer at midday every day. No matter what else we are doing, just interrupt our
routine with a moment to focus on God and in doing so, allow it to shape our lives.
We are even instructed
in Scripture to find and protect this quiet time, in Matthew 6:6,
“Find
a quiet, secluded place so you won’t
be
tempted to role-play before God.
Just
be there as simply and honestly as you
can
manage. The focus will shift from you
to
God, and you will begin to sense his grace.”
This is echoed several times throughout scripture, with notable verses coming from: 2 Kings 4:33, “So he went in, closed the door behind the two of them, and prayed to the LORD.”; Isaiah 26:20, “Go, my people, enter your rooms and shut your doors behind you. Hide yourselves a little while until the wrath has passed.”; and Acts 9:40, “Then Peter sent them all out of the room. He knelt down and prayed, and turning toward her body, he said, "Tabitha, get up!" She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, she sat up”. Jesus Himself even retired to a secluded spot to pray, from Matthew 14:23, “And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone.” And again, in Matthew 26:36, “Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder”.
I’m sure that I
could find a moment or two to steal away and connect with my Almighty Father
instead of scrolling idly through my Facebook feed or being drawn into
theological debates with no reason or necessity.
In a more general sense, I do feel that I give up too quickly if I don't feel that the Lord is answering me. It's no secret that I have been praying for my husband's salvation since pretty much the day we met. I've tried to "help God", and I've cried and pouted, and there have been seasons where I just gave up, but in doing so, I actually gave up praying altogether.
I have never doubted God, and my faith has never wavered, but there was a time a couple of years ago where I just felt so alone. I had been praying so hard and so fervently for my friend's little toddler who was incredibly sick, and I truly believed that God would hear the hundreds of people praying for him, and would heal and deliver him. When he passed away, I was absolutely devastated and couldn't believe it.
Less than a week later, my mum's best friend, a woman I had known since the day I was born, and who helped to shape me into the person I am, had a huge cardiac arrest and was in the hospital. I got the phone call at 5am and was with the family in the waiting room within the hour. I prayed all the way there, I prayed almost unceasingly for days and I felt that God would save her, and that this would be an incredible testimony. I stood around her bedside, all the family holding hands as we surrounded her, and I prayed that she would take a breath when the machines were turned off. She didn't, and I felt so betrayed by my God. I knew He was there and that He heard me, yet I felt that my prayers were futile and wondered, "What is the point?" I didn't pray for a while after that, and when I did, it wasn't to ask for anything, because I didn't think there was any point. My prayer life was definitely stifled by those experiences and I felt that I had a kind of trust to rebuild, both in God and in myself - what if I'm not good enough of a prayer warrior to be able to intercede? If I was more spiritual, would they have survived?
I
would like for prayer to be as natural to me as breathing. For my very first
thought in response to any of life’s events – good or bad – to be to bring it
to the Lord. I would hope to be able to hear His responses, whether as in an audible
voice, an obvious stirring in my Spirit, or some other way – I just want to
feel heard and acknowledged. I would love to feel confident enough to pray out
loud – either in church or just at home. Other than a basic rhyming prayer with
the kids or praying with my 4 year old that Jesus would keep him safe (he’s
going through a bit of a fear of the dark stage), I don’t ever pray aloud, and
I think that vocalising our prayers somehow gives them more power, so I wish I
could do that.
