Why and How do I Pray?
Introduction
A little boy was in church with his grandfather. They knelt down to pray. As the youngster was mumbling his grandad said “Speak up lad I can’t hear you”. To which the boy replied “I’m not talking to you”. At its most basic level prayer is simply being in conversation with God. I’m reminded of some Tom Lehrer lyrics where he says of New Maths that it’s “so very simple that only a child can do it”. If we want to progress in prayer then we need to regain this child-like simplicity.
Motivation
When facing disaster almost everyone prays – the motivation is there. When there is no-one else to turn to we turn to God. Like the man who fell over a cliff. As he clung on to a protruding tree he called out to God: “God, if you are there, help me”. “I’m here” came back the reply “Let go of the tree” – after a pause the man replied “Is there anyone else there?” At the heart of prayer is a developing relationship with God – what kind of relationship is it if we only call upon God when we are in trouble? Treating him like some kind of divine emergency service. As a human father I am always pleased if my children want to chat with me but it would be a strange kind of relationship if all they did was call me when they were in trouble.
Our motivation for prayer will be determined to a large extent by our understanding of who it is we are praying to. If our perception of God is that he is some kind of stern school masterly, remote figure we are less likely to chat with him than if we perceive him to be a loving heavenly father who delights to spend time with his children.
Mystery
Whilst prayer is very simple and straightforward, being in conversation with God, it is also profoundly mysterious. How can we, mere mortals, be in conversation with the almighty God? Does prayer change things? Why do some prayers seem to go unanswered? I will deal with the last of these as it is the one which seems to cause most angst.
The mystery of why God sometimes doesn’t seem to answer prayer. I suspect all of us have experienced this to one degree or another – it seems as if no-one is listening. Looking at the first point, motivation, one of the reasons why God does not answer prayer is because we ask from wrong motives. I love this quote from Questions of Life: p94
Very often the absence of an answer to our prayers is not so much a “no” as a delay – “Yes, but not yet”. We forget that God exists in a very different time-frame from our own. Equally what may seem entirely desirable and right to us may seem quite different from a divine perspective.
Method
I like the introduction to our prayers in the service book which says “In union with Christ and by the power of the Spirit let us pray to the Father”. In looking at our method of praying I want to avoid a fourth “M” – the mechanics of praying. It is easy to set up a legalistic framework of saying we have to use the following prayers so many times a day. This has the twin dangers of smugness if we achieve it and guilt if we don’t. Rather the method of praying should flow out of our relationship with God. A relationship made possible by Jesus and His death and resurrection. This relationship is made real to us through the power of the Spirit causing us to cry out “Abba, Father.” Our union with Christ should also draw us to look to Him as our role model – how did Jesus pray? Let us follow in his footsteps.
Conclusion
Jesus said to his disciples: “When you pray...” When do we pray? Are our prayers the outflowing of a living dynamic relationship with our father in heaven? Are we praying in union with Christ and by the power of the Spirit?