Thought for Today
Exodus 8:8 Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron, and said, "Pray to the Lord to take away the frogs from me and my people, and I will let the people go to sacrifice to the Lord."
1 Chronicles 21:8 David said to God, "I have sinned greatly in that I have done this thing. But now, I pray you, take away the guilt of your servant; for I have done very foolishly."
Matthew 5:44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
Matthew 6:5 "And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward.
Luke 5:33 Then they said to him, "John's disciples, like the disciples of the Pharisees, frequently fast and pray, but your disciples eat and drink.
How’s your prayer life? Yesterday, as I was riding in the car and listening to the radio, I heard a song that included these words, “I only talk to God when I need a favor” and “I only pray when I ain’t got a prayer.” (Need a Favor, by Jelly Roll) Is that your regimen? Do you only pray to God when you need a favor? When you too do not have a prayer? That seems to have been Pharaoh’s system of prayer, although, in honesty, Pharaoh did not believe in God.
The song led me to ponder a bit on prayer and praying. Not surprisingly, the subject is frequently addressed in the Bible. Literally, hundreds of times. As I often do, I first went to my theological dictionary, where I found, “prayer (From Lat. precari, ‘to entreat) Human approach to God and addressing God in praise and adoration, confession, thanksgiving, supplication, and intercession. A consciousness of God’s presence, love, direction, and grace may be experienced.” (Westminster Dictionary of Theological Terms, pg. 216)
Like many of my generation, I was first introduced to prayer as a young child. Before I went to bed, I would kneel at the side of the bed and say my “Now I lay me . . .” Until she was sure I had that down pat, Mom would usually ‘monitor’ my prayers. Now, as an adult, I am mildly disturbed by the idea of very young children offering prayers of supplication which include “If I should die before I wake.” Thankfully, like most young children, I never gave much thought to the idea I might die before I woke.
There was a time in my life when most of my prayers were more akin to the words of that song. I think of those prayers as ‘final exam prayers,’ or maybe ‘shiny red bicycle prayers.’ Only praying to God for God’s intervening in some dire situation of my own making, or when I wanted something. For what it’s worth, God always gave me the same answer, “I gave you the mental and financial resources, opening the book and studying were all you had to do.” How’s your prayer life?
Jesus frequently addressed the issue of our “approach to God and addressing God.” When his disciples asked for a ‘standard’ prayer, Jesus offered the Lord’s Prayer which our congregation prays each week during worship ( we ‘debt’). Jesus also offered some difficult requirements for prayer. How many of us love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us? I will not ask for a show of hands! The Sunday following September 11, 2001, our minister included a prayer for the terrorists during our prayer time in worship. He prayed they might come to understand the error of their ways and seek God’s forgiveness. Some congregants did not approve! How’s your prayer life?
“Most Muslims pray five times a day, with their prayers being known as Fajr (dawn), Dhuhr (afternoon), Asr (late afternoon), Maghrib (after sunset), and Isha (nighttime), always facing towards the Kaaba.” (Wikipedia) One of the engineering companies for which I worked did a lot of work in Islamic countries. All of our office buildings had a prayer room to accommodate their prayers. The hospital where I volunteered had a special Islamic prayer room. We have evidence that our Hebrew ancestors-in-the-faith had regular times for daily prayer. Even some of the earliest Christian places of worship were oriented to face toward Jerusalem. But, Jesus’ disciples were criticized because they ate and drank instead of fasting and praying. How’s your prayer life?
Should we pray spontaneously? Should we have regular times for prayer? Should we pray for favors? Should we pray when we have no hope and no options? Yes to all! Short or long, formal or informal, whenever and as frequently as you like, pray! God is a great listener; and God wants to talk with you. God listens and God answers. We need to listen for God’s answers.
Stay safe, pray, trust God,
Pastor Ray