I’m old enough now to remember when the Lord’s Prayer was recited every morning in the public schools that I attended. Repeating those words every day influenced how I thought about God, to some extent, but it didn’t really teach me how to pray. If I recited a 10-line poem to my wife every day and that represented the sum total of our communication, I’m not sure we’d still be married! In the same way, just reciting the Lord’s Prayer isn’t how we speak to the God who invites into a relationship. Besides, right before teaching the disciples this prayer, Jesus warned them against mindlessly repeating empty phrases (Matthew 6:7), so it’s clear that mere repetition wasn’t His goal. The Lord’s Prayer doesn’t tell us what to pray so much as it teaches us how to pray. Let me share 3 ways it can do that.
Prayer is often criticized by people who don’t pray. Part of the criticism comes from unbelief and an unwillingness to see value in unseen things. But part of the criticism comes from the perception that people pray as a cop-out. Instead of doing something, they ‘pray about it.’ I think the criticism is well-founded. But the problem isn’t with prayer; it’s with a passive approach to prayer that asks God to adjust His behaviour when we’re not willing to evaluate our own. When we pray, we should ask whether our prayers have legs, in other words, whether we’re willing to do our part and examine our behaviour. Sometimes, God may ask us to be the answer to our prayers. He may also reveal actions and attitudes that are hindering our prayers. Rightly understood, prayer is active, not passive. Consider the way the Bible describes the connection between our prayers and our actions.
I had a friend whose prayers made me uncomfortable. Listening to them praying often made me feel like I had walked in on an argument between two close friends. They’d say things like, “I’m pretty mad at you right now, Lord,” and, “I get so frustrated wondering what on earth you’re doing!” The emotions were raw and unfiltered. There was anger, impatience, sadness and pain. And when there was joy and gratefulness, you knew it was coming from the heart. Their prayers made mine feel very polite and superficial, in comparison. They made me question the depth of my prayers and the freedom I felt in my relationship with God. While this kind of prayer has a time and a place, if we never learn to talk to God honestly about the depths of what we think and feel, then we’ve probably never really learned to pray. There are several reasons that God seems to prefer honest prayers to polite ones.
Many people get tongue-tied giving thanks before a meal and feel that their prayers run out of steam (and words!) after just a few minutes. While it’s true that just praying helps you get more comfortable and natural in prayer, I believe that God has given the prayers of Scripture to not only teach us to pray but to guide our prayers. They give us words to express our thoughts and desires to Him.
It’s easy to get confused about prayer. When I first began to pray as a university student, I started to pray enthusiastically about everything. The idea that God hears my prayers was exciting. I prayed readily but not always discerningly. I didn’t give much thought to God’s will or it’s role in prayer. And so when God didn’t give me what I wanted, I was left confused. Then as I began to study more and learned that God knows what I need before I even ask Him (Matthew 6:8), I started to wonder whether prayer was so important after all. Am I just telling God things He already knows? Then when I learned that God hears prayer that is “according to his will” (1 John 5:14), my prayer life took another hit. How do I know what God’s will is anyway? And if He only answers prayers that are according to His will, is there any point in praying at all? Thankfully, I was never brought to total despair. And chances are you haven’t been either. But without a clear understanding of prayer, it’s easy for our prayer life to lose steam over time. Here are 7 reasons to pray when you find that happening in your life.
