Do You Know Who You're Talking To?

I still feel like a beginner. You would think that after 50+ years of praying, I would be better at it. The questions still hammer me: 

·       Is God bored with my conversation? 

·       Have I prayed what's most important? 

·       What business is left undone? 

·       How selfish are my prayers? 

·       I wonder how Paul, the apostle, would advise me regarding my prayer life? 

So, I continue to learn, but also to beware of the pride factor. Feeling like a beginner isn't all bad. It is the professional pray-ers that God turns a deaf ear to. As Jesus said, "And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words" (Matt 6:7 ESV). Or might we say, "for their well-crafted words"? 

I recently listened to John Owuchekwa's book, Prayer: How Praying Together Shapes the Church (which I highly recommend.) He has a fine section called, "Do you know who you're talking to?" and relates the story of how his Mom would ask that very question when he had a request. Many of us heard that phrase as a warning from an authority figure. Kind of like, "Be careful, boy. Watch that attitude." But in his case, it was often as a plea for faith: "C'mon! Quit asking like that. Don't you remember? I'm your Mom. I can do something about that."

A friend of mine makes it a practice to pray regularly with men and women before appointing them to leadership. It seems like an “of course” thing to do, but he does it from another standpoint. He says you can learn so much about a person's theology by how they pray. I agree. When people pray, you find out they either know or don’t know who they they’re talking to.  They may reflect a small view of God with chatter and hip talk as if they are talking to a radio personality or a timidity that says, “Why should God listen to me,” ignorant of the gospel truth that by grace we are God’s chosen and beloved. And I’m prone to fall into both camps from time to time.

When I fall into the “just wanna chat with my buddy, Jesus” trap, I need a good dose of Isaiah,

"To whom then will you compare me,
    that I should be like him? says the Holy One.
²⁶ Lift up your eyes on high and see:
    who created these?
He who brings out their host by number,
    calling them all by name;
by the greatness of his might
    and because he is strong in power,
    not one is missing." (40:25,26)

And when I fall into the “why should God listen to me” camp, I need to hear Jesus’ words again:

"Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!" (Matthew 7:9-11)

Both are in the Bible. Both are true. Our God is both immanent and transcendent. Both as close as the breath you breathe and as far as the proverbial edge of the universe. He is high and holy and he is meek and lowly. This should be reflected in our prayers.

Worship leaders as well as pastors would do well to remember this. God’s people learn to pray by listening to its leaders. They get their theology from the prayers you pray as well as the songs you sing. Give some preparation to your prayers as well as your songs and your sermon. Even if you need to jot down a note or two. Where did we get the idea that prayer is only effective if it’s off the cuff? Does your spouse appreciate your thoughts less if they are written down? Do they say, “Your words don’t count because you thought about what you would say”? Spontaneous is often honest, but isn’t it sometimes pretentious? When you feel the pressure to perform on the spot haven’t you sometimes said what you didn’t mean to say? Spontaneous doesn’t necessarily equal honesty.

I went through a period of a year or more where I prayed the prayers of Paul. I typed them out on a half-page and put it in my Bible; notably Colossians 1:9-12, Php. 1:9-11; Eph. 1:15-21, 3:14-21. I didn’t just read those verses but they often became a launchpad to some other more spur-of-the-moment prayers. I found the prayers of Paul shaped my theology and gave me verbiage for things I often felt but didn’t know how to articulate. (To my previous point, wise is the lover who takes some tips from Shakespeare or Ed Sheeran.)

Like me, you may feel like a beginner at prayer. Stay at it. Have confidence that as Dallas Willard said, “'Now when you pray, Jesus will walk right up to you and he will listen to you...”