For the last few days, I've gone back to the former habit of spending some time reading scripture, praying and meditating when I first get up … it's something I did for a few years when the Lord first called me out of the IC, but not in the last 5 years as the habit just sort of faded away as being rooted in religion … it seems like I'm free to return to it now because I want to or am so called …
Anyway – I found myself wondering how or what I would pray for IF the Lord were to say to me "you may make one prayer request" … I couldn't decide what I would ask, however it did make me think about how I should ask, the answer to which prompted me to look at the Lord's prayer …
There I made a couple very simple observations.
The Lord's prayer is made up entirely of simple, direct declarations and directives.
Matthew 6:9-13 KJV After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. (10) Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. (11) Give us this day our daily bread. (12) And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. (13) And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
There are no question marks as I might expect to find after a statement such as "Lord, would you please give me some bread for today?" Instead, the prayer is a direct and emphatic declaration "Give us our daily bread" – in fact, in that statement, the prayer takes ownership of the bread by calling it "OUR daily bread" – it conveys a sense of entitlement, expectation. What I am struck with is, the baggar asks, begs, pleads; but the sons direct and expect.
Matthew 15:21-28 KJV Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. (22) And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. (23) But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. (24) But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. (25) Then came she and worshiped him, saying, Lord, help me. (26) But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs. (27) And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table. (28 ) Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.
In the passage above, the woman cried and pleaded like a beggar (vs. 22), Christ ignored her (vs. 23). In vs. 24 Christ basically says that He is sent for God's people – God's sons and daughters of Jacob. In vs. 25 she tries an almost formulaic approach – worship / begging followed by request. Again in vs. 26 Jesus reiterates that He is there for the children (sons and daughters) of God. Finally, in vs. 27 the woman makes a declarative statement, saying in effect "you are my master" and in so doing, though not an Israelite by birth, she is a son of God by faith in Christ. In vs. 28, Jesus responds to her as a daughter by faith and gives her what she has sought.
So, I find myself looking back upon my prayer life, at all the unanswered prayers, asked not as a son by faith, but as a beggar submitting a request to the Lord which He may or may not fulfill.
Have I been praying wrong?
How do you pray?
Sam
Good thoughts Sam…The Lords Prayer is the next section of Matthew that I need to blog on and I just sat down to write it. I was taking a different approach to it, so thanks for unpacking it a bit more for me.
And thanks for getting this blog back on track.
Also, get your reading glasses, I’m sure Anna is at this very moment writing out a 10 page response…i think she may have a few thoughts on prayer.
Looking forward to it, RP. I’ll have to find those reading glasses – they’ve been lost since I was at the beach last month …
I learned something precious about prayer long before I became a so-called “full blown christian.” And that is the simplicity of communicating with our God. In numerous times of true need with no where else to turn I ,very privately, went to Him.
In the humbleness of a little child crawling up on a daddy’s lap wanting a hug and maybe a bandaid for an ‘owwie’, I went to The Father, who already knew of my pligth.
My Prayer was simply this. ” Lord, you know my needs. Please help me”
Simple? Yes! Results? Immediate! Very life changing, in ways that only God could have caused to take place.
My prayer formula is this:
Simplicity+sincere childlike humility=God’s blessings and results
Sam,
Thanks for posting this. I believe the Lord’s prayer is a real key to unlocking early Christianity. I was reading some articles about Julian of Norwich, when I came upon the idea that the Lord’s prayer was at least part of what was prayed in the upper room in Acts 2. I had never heard that thought in my bible training or church attendance. I now think it is correct, as the disciples would have done what Jesus told them, and He told them, “Pray in this manner”. It is also certain that you are praying in God’s will for the same reason. Matthew 6 and Luke 11 arre the only places I know of in scripture where God Himself tells us how to pray. It is interesting to me that in my 25+ years in the IC, I never once heard a series of sermons or any teaching on this. It is difficult to find books about the Lord’s prayer….Jabez is apparently more popular than Jesus?
The early Puritan, Thomas Watson wrote one, “The Lord’s Prayer”, another is “Prayer of Fire” by Lorraine Kisly. If anyone has other books on this I’d like to hear about them.
I believe you are right, whatHEsaid.
The word “manner” also jumped out to me …
Note, I have heard a number of sermon series on the Lord’s Prayer in the non-charismatic mainline denomination churches I attended – especially the Presbyterian (frozen chosen) church I once belonged to. Imagine stringing out the Lord’s prayer to an 6 part sermon series! There’s some background to that – which underscores one of the fundamental differences I’ve observed between non-charismatic and charismatic churches … about 8 years ago, a Presbyterian pastor friend, new to the church, preached a “get up and get moving” type sermon as the church was sitting on a several hundred thousand dollar endowment and refused to do anything with it – the pastor envisioned sending the youth minister off to a school, likewise the music minister, Sunday School administrator – the pastor wanted to get them charged up and equipped – but the endowment (?) had became sort of an idol that couldn’t be touched … so an elder in the receiving line told the poor new pastor that if he ever preached a sermon like that again, the man would personally lead the crusade to oust the pastor … the next Sunday the pastor kicked off a multi-part series on the Lord’s prayer. Such is safe fare in a dead, do nothing church.
What bothers me about that and why I relate the story is, that the messages were a sort of capitulation to a faithless congregation – nice, safe, non-offensive preaching to make sure no one was offended or uncomfortable.
So any message that suggested being direct, emphatic, boldly approaching the throne as a son – that would cross the line. Instead, we heard about the “name” (greek: onoma) of God, what means it to be hallowed, etc. “Manner” was typically preached as “rote recitation” and not attitude or identity. Certainly that would make for a good word study in the greek …
Pleasedreader – I do love the image of the little child offering a simple prayer. Some of the most effective prayers I’ve experienced, have been the most simple, direct, and desperate (read: Help! NOW!)
Sam
[Comment ID #28514 Will Be Quoted Here]
If it’s this Anna you bet I do!
I think its noteworthy to point out that, although the Lord’s Prayer says “give us this day our daily bread” in a direct and emphatic manner, the line before it also says “Your kingdom come, Your will be done” meaning, we don’t always know what’s best for us. I think that on one end of the spectrum the “name it and claim it” kind of faith gets dangerous when you put yourself in the place of God by claiming you know whats best for you and you will have it because of your great faith. This takes a lot of emphasis off of our God.
I think that the story you mentioned relates a lot to the book of Job in which Job pleads with God and begs him and asks him ‘why me’? The lesson which Job learns by the end is that God is sovreign and Job is just one of the many creatures which God is responsible for, that other people have lives and needs of their own and God is providing for them too and therefore answers Jobs questions with the simple statement “I am Lord”. I think it’s the same case with the woman in the story, because Jesus basically says “I have other people to provide for” and the woman replies “yeah I know I’m lowly, but You are Lord” which is indeed a great statement of faith and humility, and I don’t think it nullifys the need for begging and pleading and worshiping.
Anyways, this is just the way I look at it and there are still a lot of things I’m trying to understand about prayer too and I am willing to learn from anyone who has additional thoughts….
sorry this is so long
I think Luke 22:42 is a prime example from Jesus:
Even though He wants the cup taken and He even says to take it, He still asks that God’s will, not His own, be done.
HOW do you pray? Glad you asked.
Several years ago at a church I was attending, the pastor said from the pulpit, that it was’nt prayer unless you said it out loud. If it wasn’t out loud it was only meditating.
Now, I prayed often, any time and anywhere. This put a terrible kink in my walk with the Lord. And it still bothers me.
What do you think about it?
Apparently you aren’t attending that church any longer, Just Curious.
What does that tell you?
But here is what just occurred to me, which may help.
The passage is about prying in tongues (praying in/by the Spirit), so obviously, his tongue is engaged in his ‘prayer language’, so he could NOT at the same time pray aloud in his native language … so … he prays silently, IN HIS MIND. Likewise, he sings IN HIS MIND.
Hmmm … to believe the pastor
, or to believe Paul 
… Hmmm …
So, why did you stop attending that church again?
Take care, JC!
Sam
I was told that my prayers only last for 24 hours so for the longest time if I missed a day I was scared to death something terrible was going to happen.
What are your thoughts on this?
Rhema,
I’m sorry that happened … what occurs to me is that the genuine Gospel of Jesus Christ prompts to love, devotion, adoration, praise – in other words, the good news is good seed that when planted in us will bear up good fruit – spiritual fruit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, etc.
So what can be said of the kind of preaching / doctrine that instills such fear as to scare you to death? Teaching someone to observe a rigid daily praying schedule, lest your prayers lapse and you be smited on the spot, is legalistic and fear based.
I’ve gone through seasons of prayer – there was a few years where I was often awakened at 3:33am and I would get up so as not to disturb my wife’s sleep, and I’d go to the next room and pray in the spirit – it was a joy to do so. There was also a regular morning routine with devotions and prayer – but I haven’t done that for 3-4 years now – rather I pray whenever there is a leading to pray. A few nights ago, I met a truck-driver (OTR) friend up at the truck stop and had some wonderful fellowship over supper – he hasn’t felt well and he longs to be home with his family not on the road all the time. He became choked up – tears came to his eyes – and without a moment’s hesitation the Spirit prompted me to lay my hand upon his heart and pray in the Spirit for a few moments. No idea what I said – but he felt the Spirit’s presence and peace came on him.
For me, prayer has become like that – something done in relationship – a loving and caring response to someone’s need – or as in the case of the Lord’s prayer, it is coming before the Lord as sons and daughters – calling Him “Father” – acknowledging His sovereignty, submitting to His will, and asking Him with expectation for just what we need – in saying “forgive us our sins as we forgive other’s their sins” – well that teaches us to be like our Father – to do as He does. I want complete forgiveness so I need to do the same.
Prayer to me should be a joy – the only burden felt should be love, compassion, empathy, not a sense of duty or legalism – for duty and legalism isn’t sincere – so praying out of legalism and duty is probably fruitless anyway. Prayer aligns our heart with God’s heart – prayer takes on the burden of a brother or sister and goes to Abba Father in love for someone who is hurting.
But to pray every 24 hours as if God has one hand on a stop-watch and the other on the proverbial “smite button” – well, that’s just a picture of God painted by someone who doesn’t really know Him at all. So sad, really.
That the scriptures say “pray without ceasing” or “pray continually” suggests that our very lives are to be a prayer (submission) before the Lord.
I hope that wasn’t a pastor that told you that, or an elder – but wouldn’t be surprised.
Sam
I remember a season when I was first a Christian being so hungry for the word of God. It was the first time in my walk that reading the word and praying was something I started to do out of relationship with the Lord.
Then for some reason we got into Larry Lee’s teaching on prayer at church. Maybe because others needed at the time. It was pray an hour a day. Well guess what happened I started watching the clock to make sure I was praying an hour a day. Took all the joy out of my relationship with the Lord and the whole natural process I was beginning ceased.
That has changed now. And as you said Sam there are seasons and times and purposes to pray.
I too waken at three in the morning to feel my masters touch and to do only his bidding. The power it brings to help others is so dear to me.
Frodo and samaritan I’m thinking of writing a book ” humility and how I achieved it” Is there any possibility of using both of you in it?
Only if I can use you in my book “Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling: Who The Hell Cares!”
Mathtew 6:6 And when thou prayest, thou shall not be as the hypocrates are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily i say unto you, they have their reward.
You have your reward samaritan you too Frodo. Punctuate that windbag
[Comment ID #28570 Will Be Quoted Here]I’ve never heard THAT before!
I think I’d take that rock OUT of my spiritual backpack and DROP it on the foot of whoever put it there.
How about this for a prayer that lasted more than 24 hours; James 5:17, “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain; and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months.”
You might say “I’m not Elijah”, and you’d be right. Matthew 11:11, “Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”
Peace on you Rhema
[Comment ID #28582 Will Be Quoted Here]
Hmmm. Your comments really brum me out there, FSO. Like, you’re out in left field, man.
BTW, FSO, give my regards to Frodo.
Sam
You said ‘why did you stop attending that church again?’ I didn’t. I only quit attending once. I quit because I was feeling worse when I came out than I did when I went in.
I have been waking up at 3:25am myself. I thought it was because the guy across the street goes to work at that time and maybe his car starting woke me up. I’ll have to listen and see if I hear a voice calling “Samuel’
Even if I don’t hear a thing, I’ll know what to do. I have some heavy things on my mind.
Frodo, you’re a dodo.
How do I pray? Good question. Maybe I could write 10 pages, but no one would read it.
How do I pray? Um, I just do. I talk about whatever is in my mind/heart. I stop and listen. Maybe the Lord will tell me what’s on His mind/heart. Maybe I will hear and understand; maybe not.
In the terms of the Lord’s Prayer, I think I eventually get to all the ideas. If not in the same day or prayer, then over time. Some days I might focus on who He is. On other days, I might have a request that fills my mind. And then there are the times when I need forgiveness and correction.
I’m glad Sam and RP brought this up. We needed a new topic! And this is one of my favorite subjects. Thank you!
Sam–
Excellent comments and insight. I love your openness/sensitivity to the Spirit…reminds me of this verse:
-joebib
annaLitical said:
I know exactly what you mean. I went to one of Larry Lea’s conferences and ended up with the same sort of clock-watching attitude. What a damper to Spirit-inspired prayer! Thank goodness it didn’t last long.
-joebib
anna said:
I’ve noticed that many of us who claim we have no time for/interest in reading thoughtful posts, because they may be long, interestingly, seem to have plenty of time to daily plunk ourselves down in front of the idiot box — soda and chips at the ready — or obediently flock to the over-priced theaters (what’s it up to now…$9?) — bon-bons and popcorn at the ready — to stare glassy-eyed, mesmerized, at the latest, must-see, junk spewed out by Hollywood, for hours on end.
It would certainly be a terrible thing if we actually turned off the game, or American Idol, and for just a few moments sought to forget about the negativity and filth of this carnal world, and read something important such as another person’s insights on communing with our Lord. Taking all of about perhaps 3-5 minutes.
Wouldn’t it just be a shame if it ended up revolutionizing our walk with Christ? Might even motivate us to pick up that dusty Bible and read it.
Inasmuch as I don’t suffer from ADHD, I, for one, would be interested to read what you have to say on prayer, anna
So, write on!
-joebib
I have really enjoyed the comments on this post. I think the example of the Lord’s prayer is crucial to understanding what prayer is, and how to do it.
I used to be so confused about prayer, because many people in my family and former church would place so much emphasis on praying in tongues. My pastor would say that praying in tongues was praying the perfect will of God, and that the Holy Spirit would intercede for us when we didn’t know how to pray for ourselves/others. Well, I have never spoken in tongues, so I always thought that my prayer life was lacking in comparison to others. A ‘prayer language’ was essentially being forced upon me, and I started to fall into the ‘I’m going to babble for a while because I think this is supposed to make me a better Christian, or something’ state of mind.
But when I read what Jesus said about prayer, my whole perspective changed, and my eyes were opened to the real meaning of prayer – how it is a crucial part of your relationship with God. God has already told us how to pray, and that we are supposed to pray for His will on our lives and the lives of others – what else do we need? Is the way that Jesus prayed not good enough anymore? Why do we insist on adding to it?
Prayer is quite a simple matter. It is a process of communicating with God.
It is having a conversation with Him in the manner of the pattern given us by Jesus. It is a time to go to your Father to honor him. seek blessings and give him your needs asking for his covering over them.
I know everyone of us can add greatly to this meger description of prayer, but the point made here is that prayer is simply, simple conversation with God.
An poinion:
What prayer is not!
Is all of the self indulgence we see in these mega churches that preach, ” give so you can get .” Oh, what a great investment program if there was a bit of truth in that rubbish.
I always thought that giving was something we did because God put it in our hearts with the only rewards returned was the feeling of love and satisfaction for having given to whatever the purpose.(sorry, a tangent)
It is not a “spiritual high” some of us seem to get on with the practices of continual blabbering openly in a so-called heavenly language (there is a proper time and place for this, in private!), screaming and yelling, stomping on the floor, jerking and squeeling or bakring like a dog. There are many others. Is this any more then self indulgence?
Being disturbed by all of this once I talked with pastorabout it. His explanation was that they were on a “higher plane” of worship. Hmmm?
In all of my few dacades of Christian walking I somehow missed that boat.
There could be so many more issues added to this. I’ll just conclued with, “to each his own, and to each I wish blessings and happiness.”
Now, I will go dig a foxhole, don a helmet and wait for the missles to pass..
.
Nah.
PR – I remember one man’s story about prayer – asked about it he said ‘he just listens’ – and asked about God the man said ‘he just listens’. That makes a lot of sense to me – where in spite of all our words, the scripture still says “be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10)
It makes me wonder if prayer is more for us, than for God – since He knows what is on our tongue before we even speak it … perhaps prayer is intended to humble our flesh or to simply bring us into alignment with the Father’s will – or as in the case of many of the prayers and antics you cited (as strange) it reveals the junk in our hearts …
Hmm … I’m remembering a little book mark Karen used to have, with the various names of God printed on it … such as Jehovah-Jireh (God our provider), etc. Funny that is the only one I remember – how often we go to Jehovah-Jireh with “gimme” prayers … another reminder Karen always keeps close is to seek the Father’s face (heart) and not his hands …
The gimme prayers do seem to expose a heart filled with worldliness and greed, don’t they?
[Comment ID #28594 Will Be Quoted Here]
Sam:
There is a whole bundle of truth in your commentary. Nice to be on the same page with a few people, anyway. The “junk” mentioned is “stuff”
taught by emotional and sensation seeking teachers and learned by young and nieve minds of usually baby christians willing to accept anything as truth if it comes via trusted leadership in their church. I know. Been there and done that. Now I just get nausiated if I am in an area where it is being practiced.
The “gimme” prayers certainly do expose what is in the heart of a prayer.
But still, there is God’s provision for “ask, believe, recieve.” Purpose matters here.
Paraphrased of famous old saying:
“Ask not what the kingdom of God can do for you. Ask what you can do for the Kingdom Of God”
We need to think more about “givvie” than “gimmie” prayers.
Still think I’ll keep my head low for a couple more days.
Uh, Oh:
I hope frankie doesn’t read that last comment
Samaritan’s origninal essay said “I wonder if I had one prayer answered what would that be”…. Obviously it should be that you have more prayers answered! (joke)
I went through Bro.Taylor’s prayer class at PBC in the early 70′s… and for many years after dealt with the whole guilt trip, “my day goes bad it’s because I didn’t pray”. I went to counsel with leadership and the first question, “how’s your prayer life” with the unspoken message “if your life is bad, you’re not praying’ guilt, guilt, guilt. It’s your fault.”
After many years, wrestling with the experiences I thought were God, but no longer sure….I found a very true, very deeply personal, delightfully consistant, “you can’t put into exact words” prayer experience…
Prayer to me is “an awareness of God’s presence”. On my way to work, drinking coffee in the morning while my family sleeps, trying to solve a computer problem at work, conversation with my son … a knowing, an awareness that God is in me, around me and 100% FOR me, my family, my friends and all humanity.
NU, there’s something almost ‘witchcraft’ like about that kind of emphasis on prayer – as if you are responsible to continually cast a spell of goodness and blessing all around you … is prayer given to us to manipulate our circumstances such that we are never confronted with a bad day?
Even so-called bad days work together for the good (Romans 8:28)
… the attitude of those leaders that if everything isn’t coming up roses for you, it’s your fault for not praying blessing and favor into your life – I wonder if they had a view from Jesus perspective – would they say that Jesus was having a bad day when they drove the nails into his hands and feet?
Perhaps our understanding of good and bad (tree of knowledge stuff) is way off? Especially if we refer to those times of hardship as bad, but which God uses to form His character in us. So maybe the correct prayer attitude is simply praise for whatever happens?
Hey NU – I told someone about your ‘handle’ the other day … a brother related all kinds of problems at a gathering of ‘outside the camp’ (Hebrews 13:13-14) folks that he arranged last year and said it was time to arrange another, wherein he would pitch his ‘umbrella’ under which people would meet … I suggested “maybe the umbrella is the problem” and went on to tell him the meaning of your handle … it was a cool metaphor … and now I have one less brother …
Sam
Sam- Thanks. Glad you like my handle.
The Hebrew Scripture you sited was spoken in Modern times also:
Rolling Stones – Cain’t get no satisfaction…
U2 – But I Still Haven’t found what I’m looking for…
And an old Blue Grass Tune: I am a stranger and a pilgrim traveling this lonesome road…
Outside is a lonely place to dwell, but I haven’t given up hope that community is possible. Until then… I blog.
Just found this little piece on prayer that helped me a lot! Thought I would share.
http://www.helium.com/tm/569381
I use the A.C.T.S. method myself:
Adoration–Praise God, appreciate God, and love God. Take notice of the spectacular world around you.
Confession–Talk about your sins and thank Him for His forgiveness. Ask for help with future sins.
Thanksgiving–Look at the things in your life that make your thankful. Express gratitude. Thank God for forgiveness and for listening to your prayer.
Supplication–Ask God for what you need in life, whether that be material possessions or peace of mind.
If all else fails, you can always use the Lord’s Prayer to help you get started.