Whispers of Christ

Prayer…So powerful, so simple, so easily left behind. I initially started studying prayer as I felt that I didn’t understand it. I didn’t know how to pray. Maybe if I knew how to pray better, things would change or improve. Things changed alright. You cannot study the Word of God and not have your heart changed. 

My mission with this blog has never been to present things where I feel I have “arrived”; it’s always been to share my journey with other believers and make God’s word more accessible and understandable to them. With that heart, while I still don’t fully understand prayer, I do want to share with you what I’ve been learning. I will say that I doubt this is going to be a one-post topic for this blog, and if it is it will be very long, so bear with me. 

If you have questions by the end of this post, I strongly encourage you to take them back to truth (The Bible) and ask the author (God). Then ask someone you trust. Don’t ever just take my word for it – as I am still human and am still learning. 

1. Defining Prayer

I struggled with this question myself. Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary says that prayer is a noun. It is defined as 

1. “An address (such as a petition) to God or a god in word or thought”
2. “An earnest request or wish” 

A google search will bring you many links but the AI overview defines it as “a form of communication with a higher power, such as God, a god, or the supernatural, that is practiced in many religions. It can be a personal or corporate act and can be performed in a variety of ways.” 

Both of these definitions make sense. Throughout the Bible you can see that prayer is a way of speaking with God or a god (thinking of when the priests prayed to Baal). We also see in the Bible that there are many forms of prayer. That there is no “one-size fits all” when it comes to occasion and how to pray (and before I lose you with this statement, we will discuss Matthew 6 when Jesus talks to his disciples about how to pray – stick with me). 

2. Forms Of Prayer

Throughout the Bible we see many examples of prayer, it takes a variety of forms. I’ve seen that many people say that prayer has a variety of categories. While I agree, I would argue that prayer has always fallen into 2 main categories: a call to action or a release of emotions. 

1. A Call to Action (which includes the following)
   1. Requests for God to Actionize
      1. Healing

When people talk about God healing through prayer, we think of the miracles that Jesus performed in his ministry. Healing the lame, lepers, and the blind. But God has been working those miracles long before Jesus walked this earth. In the Old Testament, we see prayer from Abraham, Issac, and Jacob that the wombs of their wives or other ruler’s wives be opened and it happened. When we open our hearts and pray for healing, we are opening the door for God to work miracles.

2. Victory, Deliverance, Rescue, or Punishment

Throughout the Psalms we see David praying, entreating God to come to his defense. There were many moments while he was being chased by Saul that he prayed for God to punish his opposers, give him victory, or to defend/rescue him. Other Old Testament examples include the battle of Jericho or the Israelites praying for deliverance from the Egyptians. God has always acted on his children’s behalf, but occasionally I think he waits for them to recognize that they need his help (we will get to this point later). 

3. Help or Guidance

This one tends to be my default prayer, not even going to lie. This prayer radiates from a point of not knowing or understanding. It brings to my mind the image of a child asking many questions of their parents. Whenever we have my niece over, she’s always asking a million questions. It may drive me nuts at the moment but it’s a great image of how we pray to God asking guidance. 

4. Prosperity/Blessings

Blessings and prosperity are something that is prayed for throughout the Bible and even into today. We pray for blessings on ourselves and on each other. While God may reach out to tell you where you can bless others, this is mainly a prayer for God to change their circumstances and a request that He actionize, as you acknowledge his ability to do so. 

2. Forgiveness or Confession

Forgiveness or confession could be either of us confessing to God and asking for his forgiveness or asking for help with forgiving others. I want to be clear that the action is partially ours in this form of prayer as it’s a seeking to get our hearts and attitudes right before God. Example – only when Jonah had prayed to God and repented was his situation changed and he was restored to his standing with God. Please don’t misunderstand me, when you confess or forgive, your physical challenges may change, but they may not. Sometimes it doesn’t change but your heart does, and God works through that. 

2. A Release of Emotions
   1. Laments or Brokenness

I think of Hannah’s prayer when I think of prayers of brokenness. To be so broken and beat down by your circumstances that you have nowhere else you would rather turn to than to a God who knows all. Many of the Psalms are great examples of this. David was running from a man who was his spiritual father and started chasing him out of the kingdom, then escalated to chasing him around the land with an army! I don’t think it got much worse but then he was hungry and without housing! Well, there you go. I would be broken at that point too! What we see is that David, a man of faith, brings his laments and brokenness back to God. That is the point of prayer – always bringing it before God. 

2. Thanksgiving, Praise, Worship, or Hymns

This one has to be one of my favorites and also, I think the least used. The world has a way of only thanking, praising, or worshiping God when something happens the way we want. I recently had to change jobs. 

The job I was in was toxic. There is no other way to describe it appropriately. My girls and I entered a season of prayer for a new job. While I was interviewing, I distinctly heard God speak to my heart. He said, “You need to stop asking me to work in this, because I already am, and start thanking me for what you have and praise that it will happen.” Now I know how that sounds, because I distinctly remember coming out of the interview I was in going “Que – say what?!” but in faith I decided to start saying each morning a prayer of thanksgiving for my job and the work he was doing to move me, praying blessings over my current and future coworkers (yes all of them), and asking for guidance on how to bless them that day. 

Can I just say that it was life changing?! This goes back to the point in forgiveness where maybe your physical circumstances don’t change immediately, but your heart stance does and that changes the game significantly. Things became more peaceful at work, not because they were but because I knew he was there with me and was working on a way out – even if I couldn’t see it. When he did create a way out, he thought of everything. Down to giving me the coffee pot at my new job that I swear is the best coffee maker in the world. 

We also see this backed up in the Psalms – David always asks for something. Whether he’s asking for deliverance, repentance, or change he makes a point to say that he will praise God, not when it’s finished but through the process. We need to start embodying this mentality, God is God, whether you are in a high or a low and we need to praise and thank him for the lesson no matter where we are. 

3. Complaints

This isn’t a form that shows up when you research it, but I think it needs to be included. Not because I want to encourage complaints but when you look at the Bible, two separate stories stick in my mind of people who complained at or to God and were still considered men of God. 

First is Jonah’s story. He tells God he doesn’t want to go (rebellion), and probably complained the whole way to the boat. Then after he spent 3 days in the great fish (whale), which must have been absolutely humbling, he gets sent back to Nineveh. He preaches and teaches like God said to, then he goes and sits on a hill and waits for hellfire and brimstone to rain down. True to fashion, God knows that the Ninevites have repented, and Jonah could be there a while, so he mercifully causes a plant to grow and provide shade. *Side notes to talk about the fact that Jonah saw miracle after miracle of God’s mercy and still didn’t get it – how human of us! So, then a worm eats the stem, and the plant dies (I wonder if this was a sign from God that Jonah should pack up and leave). What does Jonah do? He complains to God about the worm. Long story short, God goes on to use him.

Second is Job’s story. Job lost everything. I’m not going to get into the how or why, but everything is taken from him. His friends and his wife tell him to just curse God and be done. He refuses. Throughout the entire book, he talks to God and complains at him – God still calls him faithful and righteous. I’m not saying that it’s ok to complain to God, but I do want to say that we are called to bring our problems, burdens, and pain to him. Job did that faithfully. 

As I think about this more, I think God would rather we bring our complaints to him. He can actually do something about it. We spend so much time complaining to other humans – nothing will change, it’s a waste of our energy. Let’s rethink this and bring it to the one who has enough strength to carry the burden for us and the power to change it. 

4. When you don’t have the words

The Bible talks about praying when you don’t have the words. There have been moments in my own life where I’ve not had the words to pray. A situation that seems so overwhelming that I can’t even process what to say. In those moments the only thing I can say is “HEEEEELP!!” and yes, it typically comes out that way too. But God says that the Holy Spirit intercedes before the Father on our behalf with sighs and groanings too deep for us to understand (Romans 8:26). I don’t know about you but that is a relief to me that I don’t have to always have the right words. That I can just cry or be and he knows. He just knows. 

Now that we’ve looked at the forms of prayer, I can hear you saying “That’s great, but how do I pray then? How does one start?” Good News! Jesus gave us an outline (isn’t he good to think of everything?!). 

3. “Pray then in this way…”

Take a peek at Matthew 6:9-15. Pick a translation, any translation – though personally I like AMP as it has some extra explanations and is closest to NASB (which I grew up using). Here’s what my AMP Bible says (Note – I’ve highlighted the references and additional items from AMP in blue for your convenience): 

“9 Pray, then, in this way:

‘Our Father, who is in heaven,

 Hallowed be Your name. [Luke 11:2-4]

10 Your kingdom come,

Your will be done

On earth as it is in heaven.

11 Give us this day our daily bread.

12 And forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven our debtors [letting go of both the wrong and the resentment].

13 And do not lead us into temptation but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.]’ [Luke 11:2-4]

14 For if you forgive others their trespasses [their reckless and willful sins], your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 

15 But if you do not forgive others [nurturing your hurt and anger with the result that it interferes with your relationship with God], then your Father will not forgive your trespasses.”

Now before you start saying, “Yes, I’ve read this before, but do I really need to recite this prayer verbatim?” hear me out. I’m not going to tell you not to recite it. There is a symmetry and poetic beauty to it. But here is what I want you to see – there is an outline. 

1. (v. 9) First come to the father with reverence and respect. 

Remember who he is and who you are. You are not equal to him, he is God. I think the world has lost sight of that and no longer understands reverence or respect like it should, so I love that this is the first point. 

2. (v. 10) Pray that HIS will be done. 

Note that it says “Your will” not our will. God is always working. He tinkers and makes things better. Our prayers should include the desire that his will be done. I once heard someone say that this should include us praying for leadership’s wisdom and discernment, whether you agree with who is in leadership or not. Meaning – pray for Biden even if you don’t agree with Biden. God allowed him in power and there should be a level of respect given to that even if it isn’t the person, you voted for.

3. (v. 11) Pray for your daily needs. 

While you could say this could be making a request, maybe it’s more of a thanking. “Thank you, God, that I have a job, a home, and a car – even if they aren’t what I would like, you have provided them and I’m grateful to have them.” Maybe it’s praying for what you need – “Lord, you know I’m tight on money today and I need to fill up with gas. I pray that you please provide it or give me the wisdom to know how to use my resources well.”

4. (v. 12-15) Prayer for forgiveness and restoration. 

I pray this part probably every 5 minutes honestly. We live in a world of fallen people and whether or not they mean it – offense will happen. Welcome to humanity – you have a 50% chance of being hurt by others. But the good part is that we don’t have to live in that hurt! For me, this prayer sometimes looks like “God forgive them.” Sometimes it looks like “God forgive me for my attitude toward them and help me to forgive them.” and sometimes it looks like me going and asking for forgiveness when I’ve created the hurt and then praying “God help me to forgive myself for hurting them.” 

I believe the temptation referenced in this verse is the one of unforgiveness. Of choosing to hold onto hurt and not let God heal an area of life that needs to be addressed. The imagery that I have is like someone who gets a cut on their leg. I was going to get medical (and gross), but God just brought to mind a great story. My uncle is a truck driver, they don’t have great health benefits, you know. One day he got a cut on his calf from the truck. Well, he was in the middle of a delivery that was time-sensitive and didn’t take care of it because he thought it would be fine. Two weeks later, he could barely walk. My mom took him to the hospital to find out that he had gangrene in his leg. He now is missing half his calf on that leg. They had to cut away all the infected muscle and flesh for him to stand a chance at keeping the leg. If he had stopped, cleaned, and taken care of the cut in the first place he would still have his whole leg. 

4. What Does Prayer do? 
   1. Opens Our Hearts to the Presence of God.

If you are seeking the presence of God, there is a simple step which must be acted on – Prayer. The same way that you cannot live with your spouse or roommate and not talk with them, you cannot have a relationship with God or enter into his presence without speaking to him. In the beginning of his book The Practice of the Presence of God Brother Lawrence states “…to be constantly aware of God’s presence, it is necessary to form the habit of continually talking with Him (God) throughout each day.” This is supported by the verses from the word which tell us that in order to have a relationship with God we must consistently commune with him, both in the highs and in the lows. 

2. Makes Way for God to Work.

When I sat down to think about why we should pray I really struggled. I mean the Bible says that God knows our thoughts from a far. That he knows the words before they are on our lips. So if he knows everything – really what is the point of prayer? It’s an invitation. Prayer is a form of opening the door which prepares us to see God work in a more meaningful and deeper way. It causes us to intentionally look for his hand in our lives. God has never entered into someone’s life to change things without an invitation (“Behold I stand at the door and knock”). Prayer is the invitation to allow God to come and work in your life. 

Conclusion: 

I know this was a lot. There is so much more I want to tell you and teach on this subject, but it will probably be several posts long. It needs to be bite-sized to be retainable and speaking of food, I’ve yet to have breakfast (it’s now 3:20 pm). I will stop here and summarize by saying that we need to be continuous in prayer. God just wants a relationship with you and as my friend said, “If prayer is a way to have a conversation with God, how can you speak with him if you don’t pick up the phone and dial.” Don’t wait friends, I urge you to make prayer a part of your life. Whether that’s carving out time or speaking with him throughout the day. Start making it your default setting. 

Footnotes:

1  “Prayer.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prayer. Accessed 21 Sep. 2024.
2 Lawrence, Brother. The Practice of the Presence of God. Whitaker House, 1982.