Robin Hardy Online
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Prayer is an individual's honest communication with God. Words are not always necessary, but if we don't frame our prayers with words, how will we know when they're answered? How will we even know what we have prayed?
Let's look at Jesus' model prayer from Matthew 6:9-12 (NIV).
"Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name." Jesus was the first to portray God as our heavenly Father—someone who is far above us, while being more concerned and interested in us than the best human father could be. "Hallowed" is an old word meaning "honored." Any legitimate prayer will be respectful. God is not our personal genie; He is not moved by formulas or magic words. When we go to Him in prayer, we should have the attitude of going to talk with someone very powerful who wants to do us good.
"Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." God's kingdom is the realm where He reigns; specifically, in the heart and will of anyone who is anxious to please Him. ("The kingdom of God is within you," Luke 17:21.) This is a specific request to see the greatest Good dominate the universe—starting with ourselves.
"Give us today our daily bread." This expresses the reality that our lives are dependent on God. Who gave you life? Who gave you the physical ability to earn a paycheck? Who keeps your heart beating regularly day in and day out? Who kept you out of that bad accident you just passed on the freeway? God is Jehovah-jirah, the one who provides. We go to Him with our needs. Why "daily"? Because our life cannot be lived in the future. One moment at a time is all we can perceive of eternity right now.
"Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors." (Later, in vv. 14-15, Jesus adds, "For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins." See "What Is Forgiveness?") This part of the prayer is an admission that we are sinners in need of mercy. Whatever we ask of God hinges on His kindness, not our deserving. And what kindness He shows us, we are required to reproduce to others.
"And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one." Taking the second clause first: the devil (or if you prefer, a willfully malignant force) is a reality. There is a powerful evil that works ceaselessly to undermine God's kingdom one person at a time--not by physical death, which is merely a doorway into the eternity that each person has chosen—but by deadening that person's soul to the influence of God. The amazing thing is, the devil is limited; he can do only what God allows (as with Job). Nothing can touch us except for what God Himself permits for our good (see "Is God in Everything?") The first clause of this verse is a little more confusing, because James 1:13 clearly says, "God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone." However, if we are not careful, we can wander into dangerous waters through sheer stupidity. So this is an admission of our weakness, and a request that God keep us out of situations that we cannot handle.
"For yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen." I don't care if this part of the prayer was added later; it is appropriate to remember that God wins. Despite appearances, God always wins. That's why we're bothering to pray. Amen means "so be it."
If God knows what we need before we pray (as Jesus said in Matt. 6:8), then why pray? First, because He told us to—see Luke 11:9-13, for instance. And the reason He told us to pray is because it really does good: see Matt. 6:6, Phil. 1:19, and James 5:16. But how can it do any good when we don't know what to pray, or don't pray in time to make any difference?
Again, using the exact words doesn't matter: "We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express." (Rom. 8:26) As to the timing of prayer, Boethius answers this beautifully in The Consolation of Philosophy: God is outside of time, so He sees everything that happens at a glance. He can weigh every prayer ever uttered, and change events or circumstances accordingly. C.S. Lewis compares God to a novelist at work: At any point in the writing, the author, if he chooses, can go back to an earlier chapter to rewrite the plot or revise dialogue. A character in the book can't see the editing going on any more than we can foretell the future. But the author knows what needs to happen for a happy ending.
Why doesn't prayer always work? There are several reasons:
1. Sin. "Your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear." (Isa. 59:2). The principle is the same as for any other relationship: we can't expect Him to listen to us if we don't pay any attention to Him. Clean up your act before you ask Him to bless you; if there are sins in your life that are too strong for you, confess that to Him and do your best to stay away from temptation. He can make a little effort go a long way.
2. Shortsightedness. "You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures." (James 4:2-3) Why should God give us something that's going to help us screw up our lives even more? The answer to every problem is not money; the answer is faith: Waiting on God.
3. The Sovereignty of God. "These [people previously mentioned] were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect." (Heb. 11:39-40) Sometimes it's hard to accept that it's not all about us. God is very economical in His works: When He finds an obedient, willing heart, He spreads around the blessing due that person to encompass as many people as possible—people who might not be strong or faithful enough to merit anything otherwise. So sometimes that means the original party has to stand by in apparent abandonment. Jesus was a perfect example of this: He voluntarily demeaned Himself to take on the form of a man, to be ignored, despised, tortured and murdered—before being resurrected as God and Savior. (See Phil. 2:5-11.)
I did not include "lack of faith" in the list above because I think the concept has been hijacked to mean something entirely different from the Biblical concept. (See "What Is Salvation?") It is true that Jesus said, "If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." (Matt. 21:22) We translate this to mean that we should get what we want if we demand it stubbornly enough. But that's not belief, that's presumption. When was the last time you got a favor by demanding it? I think Jesus was using believe to mean our being so completely in the Father's will that we want what He wants without ever stopping to think about it. That is how Jesus did His miracles: not simply because He was divine, but because He was perfectly in sync with the Father. (See John 5:19.)
Occasionally, contrary to all reason, what we request in prayer is granted. The immediate temptation is to dismiss it as a coincidence—which attitude is unbelievably ungrateful. So the Apostle Paul has to remind us, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." (Phil. 4:6) With thanksgiving. It is only appropriate to thank God for the privilege of approaching Him at all.
Copyright 2005 Robin Hardy
See more on prayer here and here.
There have got to be hundreds of good books on prayer, but you might start with C.S. Lewis' Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer.
posted Oct. 30, 2005
