The idea of prayer is somewhat confounding. God already knows what you need and for what you will ask. God answers prayer according to His good will so you may not get the response you want. Scripture says that God wants to give good things to his children (Matthew 7:11). Scripture also says that the prayers of a righteous person are powerful and effective (James 5:16).
But why does prayer work that way? Why doesn’t God just do what he wants without involving humans in prayer?
I’ve been in faith communities who teach that if you don’t get what you want from God, your prayers aren’t right. Other faith communities teach that if your prayers aren’t answered, it is because you aren’t right with God. Still others believe in the concept of prayer warriors, those deeply spiritual people who are so in touch with the Holy Spirit that everyone else in the community will lay the burden of prayer onto them in hopes that God will hear their requests.
I don’t know how other people feel about the subject of prayer, but I don’t care for the idea that my prayers to God might be valued on a sliding scale based on what evidence there is that God has answered. That just doesn’t seem Jesus-like to me.
In seasons of confusion and doubt I’ve tried to make sense of the human belief and teaching about prayer. A spiritual habit of prayer is certainly exampled in scripture. Paul told the Thessalonians that we should “pray without ceasing” (1 Thes 5:16). The early church fathers of the Christian faith modeled a robust life of prayer. In fact, when Polycarp, the first century bishop of the church in Smyrna was arrested, he requested that he be allowed to pray for fellow Christians. The Romans allowed him two hours to pray before Polycarp was martyred.
Prayer is a relationship.
The idea, the best that I can understand it, is that God designed the life of prayer as a means of two-way conversation between the spiritual realm and the worldly realm. Jesus often retreated to a quiet place to pray (Luke 5:15). Jesus told his disciples that the Spirit would come and be their counselor, their source of power, and would teach them all things and remind them of everything that He (Jesus) taught (John 14:26).
We are expected to be conduits of heavenly things. The Spirit teaches us what to pray (Romans 8:26) because without God’s help, we wouldn’t even know what to ask for. When we ask that God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven (Mat 5:6), we take part in the good things that God wants to do on earth. He is in us and we are in him and prayer is the catalyst of relationship and God’s work in the world.
Prayer is a gift to God.
Paul told the Corinthians that we, as followers of Christ, are the aroma of Jesus in the world among those who are dying (2 Cor 2:15). Following the idea of our faith having the aroma of Jesus, John the Revelator wrote that our prayers go up to God as an offering of incense at the throne of God. This incense is being offered to God as He is being worshipped.
“Each one (angels) had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people” … “”To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever! The four living creatures said Amen and the elders fell down and worshiped” (Revelations 5:8, 13-14).
My desire to pray is two-fold. I am in a relationship with the living Lord. In prayer, I receive wisdom, strength, encouragement, and instructions for living. At the same time, my prayers are to God the pleasing aroma of faith in Jesus. When I pray, I receive the gift of his relationship and presence and He receives the gift of my faith.
I want to help keep that golden bowl full of incense in His presence!
Interesting side note: I went to do an internet search for articles on scripture talking about how God feels about our prayers. The search engine came up with thousands of articles on why our prayers don’t get answered, how we pray wrong, and discouragement when our prayers don’t get answered. This is not bad, just very human- an emphasis on what we get and how we feel.
What if prayer isn’t all about us?
Image: Unsplash
Copyright@ TA Boland 2023
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