Thought for Today
Exodus 34:8 And Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth, and worshiped. 9 He said, "If now I have found favor in your sight, O Lord, I pray, let the Lord go with us. Although this is a stiff-necked people, pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance."
Psalm 5:2 Listen to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to you I pray.
Matthew 5:44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
Luke 22:45 When he got up from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping because of grief, 46 and he said to them, "Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you may not come into the time of trial."
Why do you pray? Why does anyone pray? Exactly what do you think is going on when you pray? My Westminster Dictionary of Theological Terms defines prayer as, “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.” (pg. 216)
We believe God is omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent. Doesn’t that mean that God already knows everything you need or want long before you yourself know? Doesn’t that mean that your mortal attempts to approach and address God “in praise and adoration, confession, thanksgiving, supplication, and intercession” are redundant and unnecessary? God already knows what’s on your mind.
When I was young, I prayed because that was what my mother told me to do before I went to sleep. I prayed a very common youth prayer beginning, “Now I lay me down to sleep . . .” As an adult, when I reflect on that prayer, I am uncomfortable with the idea of any young child praying about their own death.
As I grew a bit older, I transitioned to using the Lord’s Prayer. I didn’t think of it in terms of it’s being a model prayer offered by Jesus to his disciples. I just knew that we had memorized it in Sunday School and often recited it in worship. Many years later, as an adult, our church did a comprehensive Sunday School session on prayer for all ages using the Lord’s Prayer as the study guide.
For much of my childhood and youth, I approached prayer with an attitude I would now identify as consisting of confession and supplication. My shorthand for that prayer attitude is “shiny red bicycle” prayer. As I got a bit older, it became “final exam” prayer. When I reflect on that era of my prayer life, I always am reminded of the movie A Christmas Story. In that movie, “As a 9-year-old boy living in Northwest Indiana in December 1940, all Ralphie wants for Christmas is a Red Ryder Carbine Action 200-shot Range Model air rifle. Ralphie's request is rejected by his mother, his teacher Miss Shields, and a disgruntled Santa at Higbee's store, all of whom insist Ralphie will shoot his eye out.” (en.wikipedia.org)
Whether it is a shiny red bicycle, a Red Ryder Carbine BB gun or being able to pass a final exam for which I have not studied sufficiently, the basis for such prayer is to view and understand God as some sort of wish-granting genie. But, God is not a cosmic Santa Claus. Life is not a simple matter of touching the right bases to make the runs score. God may well make a list and check it twice, but God is always fully aware of who is naughty and who is nice without any prompting from us in prayer.
As far as gifting us with shiny red bicycles or toys we must always remember the words of Jesus, “Matthew 5:45 for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.” Prayer is not, or at least should not be, a “gimme” session, reminding God of how much we deserve what we want.
Do I still pray? Yes! Often! About everything going on in my life. I thank God; I lift up those in need to God, asking that they be comforted. I ask God for guidance and for strength. Maybe most importantly, I listen for the voice of God in my life. I look for the hints God gives me in the world around me and the people around me. When I do pray, I experience that “consciousness of God’s presence, love, direction, and grace” from that definition. Prayer is my connection to my Creator God, my source of strength and inspiration.
Stay safe, pray, trust God,
Pastor Ray