Prayer: What is your connection with God?
A Transformative Journey of Prayer: Unveiling its Power, Purpose, and Practice by Embracing the Divine Language
In Jesus’ most chaotic and challenging time, He turned to His disciples and made a simple yet profound request, “Stay awake and pray” (Mt 26:41). Prayer, it turns out, is the most powerful thing we can do for the most powerful person in the world in their most difficult time. At a time where Jesus was ‘deeply grieved to the point of death,’ Jesus saw the fruitfulness of prayer. Unfortunately, that was too much for the disciples who fell asleep on Him three times!
But what exactly is prayer?
Prayer is unnatural; thus it takes effort and can be intimidating. It’s a conversation where silence from God is an acceptable and common response. Prayer is a command (Luke 18:1; 1 Thess 5:17). It’s an unraveling experience which necessitates that we be more sensitive to the divine language and the divine way. Prayer decenters the self towards a dependency on God. It gristles against our desire for control, individualism, selfish ambition, and the fabricated persona of ourselves that we display for public presentation and perception. Thus, it’s a reflection of our understanding about His ability and character as well as a misunderstanding of the danger around us. Prayer is a constant tension between two polar extremes that we have permission and power to navigate with confidence. What could be more unnatural than the finite communicating with the infinite? Prayer is an encounter with the invisible Triune Supreme Being. Yet, it is also an intimate reclining upon the bosom of a Person.
Prayer is powerful and essential to one’s Christian faith, “Prayer is breathing.”1
Ultimately, prayer is being with God.
How many miracles do you experience every day? Every moment is a supernatural event, each interaction is a divine encounter, and we have an opportunity to hear from God, advance His kingdom, and celebrate Him. We have too much at stake to lose sight of the miraculous in the commonplace of our daily hustle. Yet the air we breathe, the steps we take, the image-bearers we meet, and the sun that sets are every day phenomena. We have an opportunity to continuously be in the presence of God as we engage our extra-ordinary daily lives (pun intended). Enoch walked with God and then he was not (Gen 5:24). I imagine that Enoch understood the beauty, simplicity, profundity of living a life of continuous prayer. Thus, the command to pray continuously is synonymous with ‘be with God continually.’ Therefore, prayer is not just a means, but it is the end itself. It is merely an extension of our relationship.
Prayer, being with God, is an end in itself.
The Power of Prayer
It has been a prayer of mine to become better at praying for several years. The scriptures only record the disciples asking Jesus for one thing specifically, “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1). At a minimum, this should prompt us to devote similar attention to understanding prayer and practicing prayer, just as we devote energy to reading the Bible or mastering our vocation. Notwithstanding, every gospel records the profound promise of prayer in which all believers WILL receive WHATEVER they ask for (Mt 7:8; 21:22; Mk 11:24; Luke 11:9-10; John 14:13; 16:24 see also James 4:2).
The Reality of Prayer
I picture a storehouse of abundance waiting to be relinquished upon my asking. However, I cannot help but notice the wide chasm that seems to exist between my requests and the reception of that request. Despite these promises, my efforts and understanding have had little effect on my ability to ‘pray without ceasing.’ A place in which we should have confident assurance is often a place of weakness, discomfort, confusion, and despair.
It is hard enough to pray when life is going well and things are flowing, it is even harder to pray when we’ve persisted in prayer and received no response. Pray expectantly; however, you are in familiar territory with most of Christianity when your prayer seemingly goes unheard (Ex 2:23; 3:7; Job 19:7; 30:20; Ps 18:41; 88:13–14; Lamentations). Even Jesus felt the abandonment from the Father in His most trying time, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” Mt 27:46.
The Practice of Prayer
Learn
There is so much to learn and unlearn when praying. Prayer is a messy, unpackaged, wrestling with God. If your theology of providence causes you to nuance your prayers, limit your God-given emotions, and soften your requests out of ‘respect’ then reread the Psalms. Less elegant and articulate prayers probably leave more room for your authentic self before a God who already knows you better than you know yourself. In other words, prayer is less about your theology and more about your relationship. Of course, relationships are enhanced by true knowledge of one another. AND, if the spirit’s grumbling in you threatens your systematic doctrine, then I suggest developing a sensitivity to the divine language that leaves room for growth and change. Therefore, approach prayer with a disposition (heart, mind, and soul) to learn from and hear from God.
“Prayer is the only entryway into genuine self-knowledge. It is also the main way we experience deep change – the reordering of our loves. Prayer is how God gives us so many of the unimaginable things he has for us. Indeed, prayer makes it safe for God to give us many of the things we most desire. It is the way we know God, the way we finally treat God as God. Prayer is simple the key to everything we need to do and be in life.”2
Unlearn
In our quest for answers from God, it is important to recognize that His responses are not akin to concise, tailored replies provided by an Artificial Intelligence Chat feature. God is not limited by our imagination. He is privileged to respond through the entirety of His Creation.3 Developing a sensitivity to His divine language becomes crucial in discerning growth opportunities in the immediate responses, still, small voices, or even the moments of silence. While God’s ‘hiddenness’ is often disconcerting, it does not negate God maximally revealing Himself in our lives for His glory and our good. Our theology must encompass the boundless nature of God, unconfined by the images we have created!
As we deepen our prayer life, we are invited to approach the scriptures with fresh eyes, encounter God in solitude's silence, learn from the soreness of suffering, and find comfort in the cross.
Explore the Depths of Prayer
Though we have only scratched the surface of the profound subject of prayer, it is time to move beyond mere discourse and delve into the experience itself. Let us commit to dedicating additional effort in spending time with God, engaging in prayer without ceasing throughout this week. We can be with God by acknowledging, praising, resting in, and inviting God into our moments. Prayer is similar to a marriage in which you participate in life with another person in oneness. Pray before activities, pray with your spouse, pray for a friend. Ask someone if they’d let you pray for them. Send out your prayer requests to others. We will talk through lessons learned in the next installment.
Onwuchekwa, John. Prayer: How Praying Together Shapes the Church. Wheaton: Crossway, 2018. 17
Keller, Timothy. Prayer : Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God. New York, New York: Dutton, 2014. 18
There are of course abusers whom ‘hear from the Lord’ and project their own sin more than they are prophesying in your life.
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