As Christians, one of the first things we learn is the importance of prayer. I learned to pray before I can even remember learning. We prayed at bedtime, and we said the blessing before each meal. As I got older, I noticed that at church people prayed a little differently. Some folks used a lot of “thees” and “thous,” some used a lot of Bible words like “we beseech thee O Lord,” some prayed long prayers, others were brief and to the point. I learned how to pray by watching other people pray.
But one thing I could not do, would not do, is pray in public. Until fifth grade, when my Sunday School teacher, Mr. A. J. Sherrill, began to teach me and encourage me about praying at our little table. I remember the Sunday morning when I looked at him and said, “I’m ready today.” And that morning after our small group time around that table, I prayed a public prayer for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Sherrill.
If you’ve been a believer for even a short amount of time, you know that prayer is vitally important. But even though prayer is one of the greatest gifts we experience as Christians, there is still so much to learn about it. Maybe we don’t talk about it enough. Maybe we assume that every believer knows everything there is to know about prayer. What about you? Do you have questions about prayer? Do you have confidence in your prayers? Do you pray regularly, or do you tend to pray only when there’s an emergency? Could your prayer life use a boost?
I’ve written about prayer previously, especially here, here, and here, so I’ll try not to repeat what I wrote in those posts, but I’d like to spend some time talking about prayer. And the first question we should answer is, “What is prayer?” To me, prayer is simply communicating with God. That’s it. Prayer is just communicating, talking to and listening to, God.
For many people though, praying could be defined as asking God for stuff. Let’s be honest. Prayer sometimes simply consists of us bowing before God and asking him for things we want. That’s a huge part of prayer, but I think as we study the topic, we’ll see that prayer is so much more than that.
One of the things I’ve learned along the way is that before I pray, I need to focus on God.
When you go to God in prayer, before you say a word, recognize his presence. That’s why, when Jesus taught his disciples how to pray, he started off the prayer with “Our Father in heaven” (Matthew 6:9). As Charles Allen wrote, when you focus on God, “we are not asking God for something, instead we open the way for the inflow of God into us.”
You are standing in the majesty of your Father. His attention is on you as if no other person existed on the planet. Focus on God, and your thoughts will be less on your problems and more on his power, less on your sins and more on his forgiveness, less on your discouragement and more on his love. Before you start on your wish list, focus your thoughts on your Heavenly Father.
Then, when you’re ready to start talking to God, do just that, simply talk to God. You don’t have to use flowery, King James language if you don’t want to. If that’s what you want to do, then do it. There is no magical formula you need to use in prayer. Just talk to him.
“And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward…And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words.” (Matthew 6:5, 7)
Prayers don’t have to be fancy, they don’t have to be perfect, and they don’t have to be long. God invites us to talk to him like we would talk to anyone else who loves us and gave his life for us.
Sometimes you feel desperate. Tell that to God. Sometimes you’re overjoyed. Tell that to God. Are you angry? Tell that to God. Since prayer is communicating with God, be completely open and honest about anything that’s on your heart. If it matters to you, it matters to God.
If you’re a parent, you know that anything that bothers your child bothers you as well.
One year, when our son lost his first tooth, my wife gave him a kite. I picked him up after school on Kite Day, where all the kids had brought kites to fly at recess. Shortly after he got in the car, he just broke down sobbing. It turns out that he was missing the little plastic piece that connected the tail to the kite. I was trying to navigate traffic and said, “Son, it’s just a kite.” Through his sobs, he replied, “But Mommy gave it to me when I lost my first tooth!”
You know what I did next. His little heart was broken, so my heart was broken. I turned around, made my way back to the school, ran inside before they could lock the doors, and searched his classroom until we found that little piece of plastic. And then we celebrated!
Please don’t ever think that your prayers are too small or unimportant to God. If something is important to you, it’s important to him too.
Talk to God about anything and everything that matters to you. Never think for a moment that your concerns aren’t important. Never let yourself think, “Goodness, I’m only asking for help with a situation at work, and God’s busy trying to stop COVID.” That’s not how prayer works. That’s not how God works.
So what matters to you? What are you concerned about? What’s weighing heavy on you?
Talk to God about it. Pray about everything. And be open and honest and perfectly natural, bringing your cares to your Father. Because your Father cares for you.
the inflow of God into us – I love that!