When We Pray

Just a few thoughts on the subject of prayer today.

So, what do you say to the God who knows everything? Do you need to name every name, describe every illness and need and above all demand what it is you think needs to be done in every situation? What does God desire and expect of us when we pray?

As we unpack these questions let me make it clear that brevity is NOT my concern when it comes to the important privilege of talking to God. As much time as we need to speak to and more importantly hear from God is exactly how long we should take in prayer. One passage which has always been a sort of guideline for me concerning prayer is (Ecclesiastes 5:1-2):

“Walk prudently when you go to the house of God; and draw near to hear rather than to give the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they do evil. Do not be rash with your mouth, and let not your heart utter anything hastily before God. For God is in heaven, and you on earth; therefore let your words be few.”

While the thrust of Solomon’s words are clearly aimed at the rash vows which men make before a God who will hold you to every word, a general principal is also identified which caries into our concern for prayer – “God is in heaven, you are on earth; therefore let your words be few.” In light of this, consider the words of the Lord Jesus Himself as found in (Matthew 6:7): “And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.”

The reason that we should keep our part of prayer short should be obvious – we are to defer to Him who is greater in knowledge of yesterday, today and tomorrow and to Him who with the tiniest part of His own wisdom made Solomon wiser than any other man. We are to defer to Him who has all of this – everything we see and even everything we can’t see under control.

God has a plan.

In (Jeremiah 29:11) a very specific word is given to the Israelite captives in Babylon, the Lord says: “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Within this verse however is another general principal, namely that God knows the thoughts (machăshebeth – thought, intention, plan) that He has towards each of us. He knows His plans for the believer and the unbeliever, every man, woman and child – every one individually; this important truth comes into play in our prayers as we petition the Lord for individual needs. While we only see the illness, calamity, tragedy and suffering and ask for relief accordingly the Lord KNOWS what He is doing and as hard as it may be to hear, God has a plan for the pain He allows in our lives. This does not mean that we should not ask for relief – Job did but it does mean that like Job we must accept the adversity that sometimes comes asking instead of “why me Lord,” the question, “Lord, what are you trying to teach me” or “Lord, what is Your plan in all of this?”

So what does God desire and expect from us when we pray?

He expects faith. “Without faith,” the writer of Hebrews declares “it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). Likewise James declared a principal in his instruction concerning a prayer for wisdom when he said: “But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord…” Jesus also taught that faith was an important component to prayer (Mark 11:24): “Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.” It should be stressed that your faith should not be in your ability to believe but rather in our God who is faithful (Mark 11:22; Lamentations 3:22-23).

He expects submission. Jesus taught in (Matthew 6:9-13):

“In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.”

Rather than , “Lord gimme what I want” we are to pray “Lord, whatever you want “- this is our expression of surrender to His superior plan. In the example of prayer from which we are to model our own prayers we also find that our dependency on the Lord is also an expected part. In reality, we won’t pray over anything we think we have covered by our own strengths and abilities. My advice is to check those along with any self-righteousness you or I may have at the door; our best is always nothing more than filthy rags (see Isaiah 64:6) – no one more so that God can sing “anything you can do – I can do better; I can do anything better than you.”

Finally, thanksgiving is expected and deserved every time we pray: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God” Paul wrote in (Philippians 4:6). It is the will of God that we always be thankful (1 Thessalonians 5:18) – thankful when we have cancer (not for it), thankful when we’re broke (not because we are), thankful in abundance and in poverty, thankful for even the tiniest infusion of God’s grace in our lives. We are to be thankful to the God who chose to allow His Son to suffer for our sins, granting those who believe on the name of the Lord eternal life instead of what we deserve. The fact is, that believers in the worst of situations are still most blessed because of God’s great grace towards us.

It isn’t an exhaustive list but you get the gist of it – pray for people and situations, express your heart of concern and your hope but in the process defer to the will of God in faith, submitting to His will rather than demanding your own way and be grateful to our gracious God; these are a few of the things God desires and deserves from us when we pray.