Growing Through Challenge - Random Thoughts On Prayer

                                 WHAT IS PRAYER?

Among the countless definitions of prayer I have encountered over the years, perhaps the following two simple definitions have helped me the most...
     "Going quietly with the mind, down into the heart, there to kneel before and savor the presence of my Creator."
     "A method not of trying to get God to come over to my point of view, but instead to help me see and come over to His point of view."

                                            AWE

Guard against prayer becoming too casual. Try not to lose the incredible awe we should sense as finite beings, actually granted the unbelievable privilege of communion with the INFINITE CREATOR of all things!   Madeline L'Engle inspired me with the following:

                                         WORDS

"I, who live by words, am wordless when I try my words in prayer. All language turns to silence. Prayer will take my words and then reveal their emptiness. The stifled voice learns to hold its peace, to listen with the heart to silence that is joy, is adoration. The self is shattered, all words torn apart in strange patterned time of contemplation that, in time, breaks time, breaks words, breaks me. And then, in silence, leaves me healed and mended. I have returned to language, for I see through words, even when all words are ended, I, who live by words, am wordless when I turn me to the WORD to pray. Amen."

                                    DUTY OR JOY

Sometimes we tend to think of prayer as a duty or an obligation, e.g. ("...have you said your prayers yet?") Duty and obligation rarely inspire the deepest, highest and best in us. For Jesus, prayer seemed to be not a duty... rather a joy he anticipated with delight. It seemed to actually be His time and place of refreshment and answers in a world of constant challenges and confused values. What effect might such an attitude regarding prayer have on you and me?

                                     SIMPLE IDEA

Please allow me to give you a simple idea which may help you get started actually praying... and finding joy in it. Try to find a quiet time and place where you are not likely to be disturbed for just a few minutes. Visualize yourself (whatever your physical bodily position) to be quietly kneeling before the presence of the Almighty One who actually created everything we see and know... our Heavenly Father.

Turn your empty hands over allowing your palms and fingers to just face heavenward. Simply, in your mind, or with words... say "Father, these empty hand represent five things I am thankful for, and five concerns I would like to lay before You. Then proceed to touch each finger of one hand, mentioning five things for which you are thankful. Even those in the gravest of current earthly situations would be helped by remembering a few things (past or present) for which to be thankful.

Now touch each finger of the other hand and share five concerns with God... concerns both for self and for others you know about. Praying for others can have a powerful healing effect on your own life.

Just try this simple exercise for a few minutes and begin to experience the power of prayer firsthand!

                                 NOT JUST ASKING

Instead of just making requests, be sure that your prayer time also includes...
     Meditation - quieting the mind and heart from the rushing and noise of our world.
     Listening - bending our spiritual ears toward the whisper of God's still, quiet voice.
     Seeking Wisdom - asking how we might see this situation more from our Creator's eternal perspective, seeing the larger picture (which is, by the way, always a better vantage point from which to see life and make decisions!)
     Seeking GOD'S Will - Frederick Buechner, in his book "Listening to Your Life", has this amazingly insightful idea... "Thy will be done" is what we're saying... We are asking God to be God. We are asking God to do not what we want but what God wants. We are asking God to make manifest the holiness that is now mostly hidden... to set free in all its terrible splendor the devastating power that is now mostly under restraint!   Are you and I really willing to ask that?

                               THE ROLE OF FAITH

One of the ultimate values our Creator is trying to develop in us during this earthly journey seems to be the value of Faith. We are constantly called upon to trust in a God we have never seen; to believe when there appears little or no reason to believe; to act in faith when circumstances may be pulling in the opposite direction.

Perhaps it is this supreme value of faith that is a large part of what makes prayer so meaningful. If we could actually hear God's voice or see his handwritten instructions in the sky, then how would our faith ever grow? Rather, if God's answers were so apparent, wouldn't that cause faith to actually shrink? What we can see or hear really calls for no faith at all!

                        GOD'S PART... AND OUR PART

We are entitled to ask God for help regarding anything. However, prayer is not meant to be a substitute for intelligent thought, and diligent effort. Knowing our Creator's eternal growth and maturity goals for us, why would He encourage laziness by doing for us what we should be working on ourselves?

                             UNREALIZED PROMISES

Check your praying to see if you are asking God for things he has already promised and given. For example:
     Instead of praying for God to "be here" or "please be with me"... how much better to boost your faith by remembering His promises to "never leave or forsake you", and therefore thank Him for His presence (whether you "feel" it or not).
     Or, instead of praying for God to "be gracious" to you, thank Him for His marvelous grace already promised and granted.
     A worthwhile study would be to see how many other promises from the Bible you could stop asking for and start rejoicing in.

                                      LISTENING

If prayer is listening to God as well as speaking to Him, when and where do we take time to listen? Since we don't expect his answer to be an audible voice, how do we expect His answer to come? With what faculty do we intend to recognize it? Might it require more time, attentiveness, and concentration than most of us tend to give?   How might you become a better "listener"?

                                      GOD'S WILL

Many people pray to know God's will more out of curiosity than an intention to follow it. Unless your heart is set on doing His will, why would you expect Him to reveal His plans for you? All of your life is connected. If you are running away from God's will in one area, why would you think you could pray for insight into His will for some other area?

                                      SINCERITY

Sincerity of heart seems to be of supreme importance to God! Jesus offered great hope for all kinds of sinners... thieves, prostitutes, murderers... all kinds... except the insincere religious! That being the case, the insincere person still praying is more likely engaging in speech-making for either public consumption or private comfort. There is little evidence that the Almighty God is impressed by speeches... there is every evidence that He is touched by sincerity of heart.

"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others." ___Matthew 6:5

                                      BECOMING

To a great extent your prayers will be a reflection of the inner person you have become up until now. If you are a shallow, small-minded, selfish, unthankful person, how effective do you think your praying will be? On the other hand, if you are sincerely praying for God to help you gradually become a different and better person on the inside, there is splendid hope for you! Remember the scripture, "Man looks on the outside, but God looks on the heart."

                                      BELIEVING

The scriptures talk a lot about "believing prayer" or "praying in faith". Perhaps it would help most of us to "pray in faith" if we reduced the size of our requests to something we sincerely believe would be answered. For example, "God, bring world peace" might become "God help me find a way to develop a more peaceful relationship with my difficult co-worker." Start with what you can believe, have patience, and see how God might help your faith to expand to encompass larger goals.

                                    SELFISHNESS

Self-centeredness is a common human characteristic that our Heavenly Father greatly desires to help us overcome. It shouldn't surprise us then when purely selfish prayers go unanswered. Why would our God encourage a quality which He is working so hard to help us grow beyond? When we detect elements of selfishness or self-centeredness in our prayers, we should pause... seek to think deeper, larger, more expansively to include the cares, concerns, hurts, and needs of others. That simple exercise can work wonders in our own inner journey toward maturity, less selfishness, and more personal depth.

                         ACCEPTING GOD'S ANSWERS

We are taught to pray, "Thy will be done." Jesus prayed "not my will but Your will be done." So how do we find the balance between being invited by our God to bring all our request to Him with confident faith... and then in the end, with just as much faith, to accept His answer even when it is not quite what we prayed for? Perhaps a big part of the puzzle is found in the second definition of prayer I gave at the beginning ... "Seeing prayer more as an opportunity to gain insights into God's grand and eternal point of view, instead of trying to convince Him of our greatly limited point of view... this is a marvelous goal to aim for."

Also think about this... would you really want a God whose mind and plans would be continually changing, based on what people on earth may or may not be saying or doing?

So make your biggest aim in prayer to get to know your Creator's eternal perspective and His magnificent will better and better. Once you feel you have ascertained God's will on any matter, you are encouraged to ask in confident prayer.

"Don't worry over anything whatever; tell God every detail of your needs in earnest and thankful prayer, and the peace of God which transcends human understanding will keep constant guard over your hearts and minds as they rest in Christ Jesus." ___Philippians 4:6-7 The Phillips Translation