prayer

People talk about it a lot, especially when they have some sort of need. But, what is prayer? Some see prayer as a formal act that is performed in a formal setting, i.e., church. Others see it as the repetition of words or the mouthing of a formula. While not necessarily denying any of these avenues, here are some additional thoughts about prayer.

Prayer is . . .

• an acknowledgment that we do not have all of the answers (and can’t even formulate all of the proper questions). Since it is true that we lack complete knowledge, the prayer impulse is completely sensible and wise, for it fosters an attitude of humility.

• equally, an awareness, an intuitive sense, that there is indeed something (and Someone) bigger that we are. Not only are we smaller than some would assume, but there is a corresponding something/Someone that/who is larger than any of us have completely envisioned. This encourages the relational impulse in us, the need to connect to this Someone.

• built on the assumption that this something/Someone is actually good and powerful– good enough to care and powerful enough to do something about our circumstances. This, I think, is an encouragement, for it teaches us that Gos is approachable.

• a realization, however subtle, that we have value. Indeed, the reason we sense the need to look outside of ourselves to another is because we believe that there is help available. Thus, prayer prompts humility (as mentioned above), not humiliation, for we instinctively know that a good God values us.

• an actual connecting to this Someone, comforting our hearts and allowing us to sense or comprehend his plan, purpose, and presence (the alliteration is coincidental . . . or is it?). God is not merely a theory, an idea, or a belief. He is a real person with whom we can connect. This makes prayer personal in a dual sense: we are (1) people who connect to (2) the ultimate Persons (i.e., trinity).

• that which enables us to see our lives within the context and the presence of a being who declares his love for us and also demands our devotion to Him. It is thus ethical, moral, and devotional in focus, along with being personal.

• evidence that this Someone who actually exists is not a mere Anyone, a being we get to define and create out of whole cloth. While we must, by the nature of the case, walk by faith, this faith is neither irrational nor imaginary. Having connected with this Someone, we instinctively lean into his purpose and seek to know something of his identity. Without getting into a prolonged argument or debate, this Someone appears to be revealed most unambiguously and clearly in the One who specifically came from God (as God) to live among us. This Someone, in Christian terms, is Jesus. Whether we know a little or a lot about him, whether we are confident or doubtful in our faith, he is the I Am, the One who comes to us in grace and love and embraces us in spite of our ignorance and foolishness.

Prayer, it seems to me, involves our hearts and lives (formally or informally) connecting with God, bathing in his love, cognizant of his presence, keenly (or not so keenly) aware of our association with Him. It is intentionally recognizing that all of life is sacred, and all of life is his (since he creates and sustains it). When you think of it this way, it makes perfect sense that we would be invited to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17).