Prayer

October 17, 2010
Matthew 6:5-15
When you pray . . .

The first three topics in chapter 6 (giving to the poor, praying, fasting) all mention "they have their reward in full." Apparently our real goals determine where our success will lie. If our underlying reason for an act is to have publicity, then that's what we can expect to receive. In the business world, we are told that companies achieve what they really think is important (barring outside intervention). Perhaps our "religious exercises" also achieve their real goals. Some are aiming for public honor, and they can get it. Others are looking for closeness to God, and fortunately that is also attainable. But you don't get that closeness if your real goal is the publicity.

In addition to this passage, the Bible has other descriptions of prayer, some of which expand our understanding of appropriate prayer. Acts 1:14 and 4:23-31 were specifically mentioned as encouraging corporate prayer, which today's main passage doesn't mention at all.

This week's topic, prayer, had three main discussion points, as suggested in Jesus' comments.

Praying for show: Publicity

The purpose of prayer is to communicate with God. Sometimes this can and should be done in a public setting. But the public part ought to be incidental to the prayer, not the reason for the prayer. We have a desire to speak with God, and it just happens that we are surrounded by other people.

Public prayers may be thinly disguised efforts to evangelize ("We're going to have prayer at our table in this restaurant, and we invite all the rest of you here to join us") or to make announcements in church ("And Lord, we pray for Brother Jones there in Room 324 of the hospital"). We need to remember that we're talking to God in prayer, not preaching or teaching.

On the subject of prayer in restaurants, one restaurant worker pointed out that pray-ers are noted for being lousy tippers. If prayer before a meal is a legitimate form of witness (and this passage doesn't quite address the topic), then the rest of our witness needs to include proper respect for the servers, which includes appropriate payment for their service. (And 10% isn't adequate in today's restaurant market.)

Praying publicly is often a part of family training, and may be appropriate to help enforce the idea that God is present everywhere and deserves to be recognized. This led to a discussion on why so many Christians feel compelled to pray before each meal. We seemed agreed that this can be a reminder that God is the source of all blessings, including food. But there was also awareness that saying religious words before a meal (or before going to bed) may not be actual praying.

Praying for length: Repetition

Jesus' instruction about "not babbling" is best judged by us about ourselves. Trying to determine when someone else is babbling is dangerous. We do not know their mindset, or their ability to put their thoughts into words. Repeating phrases ("Father God do this, and Father God do that") could be laziness of thought; but it could also be deliberate emphasis on an aspect of God's character that the person praying needs to be reminded of. And those of us with better vocabularies and who are more comfortable may be able to babble without ever using the same words ("Lord, we thank you for the beauty of this day, and Father, your glory is obvious in today's sunrise").

Most of us feel that our prayers communicate better if we speak naturally. We try to avoid special prayer vocabulary (thee, thou) or a special prayer voice (suddenly deeper, or a different accent). But for others, these may be signs of special respect for God and recognition that He is not just anybody.

[We tried to impress upon our own children that you could speak to God as to a friend, but were pretty stunned when one child began a mealtime prayer with, "How's it going, God?"]

The caution about babbling, thinking we'll be heard because of how many words we say or how we say them, is more a caution for us as individuals, not a way to judge other people's communication with God.

Praying for informing God: He already knows

This has been a question many of us have struggled with: Why do we tell God anything? He already knows what's happened and what we need.

We recognize that prayer is communication, and communication is two-way. By bringing our concerns to God, we can become attuned to His perspectives. Many of us have had the experience of having our thoughts re-directed as we are praying. The Holy Spirit uses our openness to guide us.

By mentioning those things that concern us in prayer, whether they are praises, requests, or challenges, we are acknowledging that we want God involved in each situation. We also recognize that He is in charge.

And the Bible gives examples of God changing His mind because of prayers. Theologically, we have questions about how an all-knowing God can be persuaded to alter anything He has planned. But the Bible used that language to describe Moses' encounter with God. Other examples may not be as clear (Abraham and the destruction of Sodom, David and the census), but it still appears that our willingness to "argue the case" is one factor in God's actions.

Finally, we came back to the idea that God wants us in relationship with Him. A relationship requires communication, and prayer is our communication with God. We have been invited to participate in talks with God, not to manipulate Him but to get to know Him and to reveal ourselves (consciously) to Him.

Things that help us to pray better

We shared some things that have helped us in our own prayer lives.

• Keep the prayers genuine. Don't put on a special "religious mask" before God. It hinders relationship.
• Obedience. If God has given us instructions (directly from the Spirit, or through the Bible or a sermon), we need to follow those instructions. Failure to do so blocks the communication we're trying to have.
• Nature is inspirational. Getting away from all the man-made surroundings can remind us of God's goodness.
• Lectio divina. This is a method of prayer that involves scripture reading and application. The linked article is from Wikipedia for a broad definition, but there are other sites with a more devotional theme. Our own Nazarene Publishing House has some publications to help apply this method to specific Bible books.
• ACTS: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication. This outline has helped several people broaden their prayer life.
• Visualize. Move the prayer time from just mental processes. Journaling, speaking aloud, or looking around can engage more of our mind and help to keep us focused on God.
• Use real language.
• Group prayer was an easy introduction for some into private prayer later.
• Conversational. We need to learn that we can come to God at any time. Emphazising conversational prayer (perhaps assuming that God is in the chair next to you and addressing Him there) can help us realize this.
• Take it to the cross. Creating a visual image helps some of us pray better.