Our old friend stands there and talks about how our prayers have upheld him when he and his family lived in dark places; he tells stories about how God did miracles in people’s lives when we prayed; he tells us that praying is the best way to help them, “because when you pray you are entering the battle.” And I realize this is the work of prayer that Jesus calls us to, the kind Paul modeled when he said to the believers: “…since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives.” (Colossians 1:9) To people like this, prayer is the most vital work of God’s people, an agreement between heaven and earth that God’s will should be done above all else, an open door for God to work in amazing ways.
There’s no question that understanding prayer is a foundational skill for anyone who is serious about following Christ, but I suspect that our experience of prayer will be determined by how we see it. It’s kind of sad really, how we get hung up on saying the right-sounding words…so that God will listen and others will think we are good at this? That kind of performance-measuring barely lifts our eyes off Self long enough to remember what we are even doing in the throne-room. And it’s surprising how many people feel like their own needs are bothersome or selfish; somehow maybe it feels more spiritual to pray for someone else. No question, the Accuser is working to make sure that if he can’t sway us from our faith, we will at least be so hampered by faulty ideas and skewed perspectives that we will be frustrated and ineffective in it.
In our small group we keep looking back to the old picture that most of us saw when we were growing up– the one of Christ standing outside a door with no handle, knocking– a rendering much older than the artist, actually. The picture of Christ knocking is as old as the words of John’s vision closing out the New Testament. It’s Jesus showing us visually what kind of relationship He wants with us: “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.” (Revelation 3:20) Anything less falls short of Jesus’ idea of what prayer is like.
If prayer for us is like handing Jesus a weekly to-do list while He stands on the mat, then we are missing something very precious. And if we are thinking about how to word our wants in a way that will make Him sure to do it, then we are barely beyond the realm of superstition. I wonder how Jesus feels about the thoughtless earth-bound words we often call prayer? Real prayer is opening the door and inviting Jesus in to live with us, to inhabit the space of our lives and be the kind of friends that sit down and eat Monday night dinner together. It’s continually turning the eyes of the soul toward Him and asking for His opinions, His wisdom, His perspective on our experiences in life, and choosing to enter into what He is doing in the world. It’s exciting and unexpected, costs time and energy, and is a bit terrifying, if you think about it.
Real prayer is all those things, but it is the spark of restoration that can change everything it touches….because it is God’s Spirit partnering with our spirits to transform the world. As John heard and saw in his vision of heaven: “He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!’ Then he said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’ ” (Revelation 21:5) He is calling us all to enter the spiritual battle and be Prayer Warriors; it is perhaps the most worthwhile work we can do for the Kingdom of God, and for our own spiritual growth.
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I give you my life,
I give you my trust, Jesus.
You are my God,
You are enough, Jesus.
My heart is Yours…
Take it all, take it all,
My life in your hands.
(My Heart Is Yours, Kristian Stanfill)
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“‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart.'” (Jeremiah 29:11-13)