19: Prayer Life

When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray, there are two observations we can make:

(1) He hadn’t taught them;

(2) they were looking for the right way to pray.

That seems obvious, but the second option is the more revealing of the two. Take the time to browse an online bookstore website and search for books on prayer. The Amazon site alone has more than 70,000 listings just with the keyword, “prayer”! Abebooks has more than 600,000 listings on prayer. There are books on how to pray, why to pray, what to say, what not to say, to whom to pray—the list seems endless. So, it shouldn’t surprise us that the disciples asked for Jesus to teach them how to pray.

There are many types of prayers. There are petitions, supplications, thanksgivings, praises, etc. There is no specified length for a prayer, nor a specific formula per se, that is to say, you don’t have to get everything mentioned in one sitting. Prayers can be brief and to the point. They can be about one thing or many things. Clasping our hands and bowing our heads helps us to be less distracted but are not prescribed. They can be said aloud, or within ourselves. Sometimes the words escape us, but God knows what we are trying to say. The key is to say them.

Another observation we can make about Jesus is that He had a very dedicated and habitual prayer life. There are occasions in the gospels where it can be inferred that Jesus preferred prayer to sleep (Luke 6:12). The disciples knew Jesus prayed often (Luke 5:16); what they were wanting was the quick tips to a successful prayer life.

That is the thing about prayer: there isn’t a one-size fits all method to prayer. Prayer isn’t magic; it isn’t about invoking the higher power; there are no three wishes as though prayer were like rubbing the genie’s lamp. Each of us have our own prayer lives. We often pray for the same things, but seldom in the same way. One petition God while another sits in silent awe of the majesty of God with a prayer of praise. There is no common book of prayer, and to have a rote of prayers is to miss the point of what it means to have a prayer life at all. One could no more read aloud someone else’s prayer book or journal and think it will suffice than one could rehearse a Shakespearean soliloquy and think that that would suffice in a conversation with one’s parents. Of course, there are times when such things have their uses, but for the most part, no decent conversation with someone happens from a book.

Jesus provided a simple outline of what to cover in our prayer life:

1. Whom to address: our heavenly Father. Now, straight off the bat, calling God “Father” is novel for the Jewish world. The OT does have passages where God is called “Father” carrying the idea of starting the nation of Israel, the origin of their existence. There are also several prophecies that His people would one day call Him “Father” (2 Sam 7:14; Ps 89:26; Jer 3:19; Hos 1:10), indicating something much more special will happen for all people, not just Israel. Their current relationship would be changed forever when the fulness of time should come. In addressing God, we are to hallow His name. Here’s the thing: it is already holy. I can’t make it holier. However, I must change from my old lost sinner’s ways now that I have the Almighty God of gods as my Father! Father, thank you for the blessing that I can call out to you, “Abba, Father.”

2. The kingdom. The church is part of the kingdom, but the kingdom is more than the church. Jesus did establish His kingdom nearly 2,000 years ago, but there is still much to be done. God’s kingdom has faithful and loyal subjects in it, submitted to the will and rule of God. Can we honestly say that that is true everywhere on Earth? Where there is rebellion against, and rejection of God, there is a need there for the kingdom of God to come. We need to live the kingdom life now. Our eternity has begun though we are yet to experience the immortal and incorruptible life of which Paul spoke in 1 Corinthians 15. Father, thank you that you have called me to lead some soul into your kingdom.

3. Bread: our daily, physical needs. Firstly, we are children of the Creation. Therefore, we are God’s creation, made as His image-bearers. Secondly, we are children of God who wear the name “Christian”. Both—the human and the born-again—need physical sustenance. We still need food even it turns out to be a tuna with green olives sandwich. Father provided the Earth and all its fulness to sustain our physical lives. The thing is, we are commanded to pray for physical necessities. He provides, but He still likes to be asked and to be thanked for the bounty of this creation. There is no instruction here about praying for a better job, a better home, a better car, or even a bike! I think that Father has no problem with us having a comfortable physical life. However, that should not be the focus of our prayer life at all. Such things last for a short while whereas heaven is forever. If I can get to tomorrow, then that is one more day in which to honour, serve, and praise Him as my God. Let’s not be distracted by things but focus on Him instead. My relationship with God should in no way be founded on what good things I can get from Him. Father, thank you for another day in your creation in which I may praise your name.

4. Forgiveness and forgivers: our spiritual well-being. We are to seek Father’s forgiveness. Our new relationship does not release us from temptation or the possibility of sinning. Instead, we must confess our sins that we may be healed. Matthew 6 has more to add to this simple instruction, but both he and Luke tie Father’s willingness to forgive us with our own willingness to be like Father—ready to forgive those who wrong us. This is one of the most challenging demands that Christians must come to terms with. I am fine with being forgiven, but forgiving others? The fullest experience of grace is best understood when this instruction is followed. It enhances and enriches my spiritual well-being. It is my soul spa. When I forgive, my stresses are released, my complaints are forgotten, my joy is restored. Father, thank you for forgiving me so that I may forgive others.

5. Preparedness: our need to mature. Why would Father ever want to lead us into temptation? However, there are times when Father needs to test us. When Abraham was asked to sacrifice His one and only son, the son of promise, Father wasn’t just testing Abraham’s faith that God would raise the dead; Father was also demonstrating to Abraham how much he had matured in his trust and faith in God. Father has confidence in us that we can venture out into the big, bad world. He prepares and equips us for it. These days, children do not venture as far from home as they did in my childhood. Their circle has diminished. Father does not want us staying at home, hiding in the meeting place, being comfortable in our apathy. Yes, the world is a dangerous place, and yes, there are many temptations, but Father will not lead us into temptation. We discover how much we have grown in Him, how much more like Him we are becoming, when we walk by the sin and have confidence in His comfort that we are equipped to make the right choices. Father, thank you for the strength that comes from your confidence in us to do the right thing.

One of the eye-opening, jaw-dropping realisations that comes with this brief instruction from Jesus is that we get to call God “Father”, just like Jesus did. We get to be called children of God.

My own dad passed away ten years ago. There have been times when I would have liked to have heard his voice, his laugh, and his advice just one more time. I know not everyone has that sentiment, but with God, it is so different. He is the Father we always wanted, needed, and could trust. He never fails us, never gives up on us, never misses an event in our lives, never lets us down. Father is there for us always. How strange that we should not take the time to talk with Him.

Prayer is a conversation with our Father. Prayer is our encounter with Him. He listens. He understands. He cares. He loves. Father, thank you for inviting us into your presence to talk with you.

1 John 3:1

3 See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. 3 And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.[1]

[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), 1 Jn 3.