Grammar in Prayer

Trying to grapple with the 'language of prayer' has been an enlightening exercise for me. Yancey deals with this subject really well in his book 'Prayer: Does it make a difference,' but I want to share a quote from Lendol Calder today. He speaks about the 'Grammar' in our prayers.

"In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus has given us a “grammar for prayer,” one that organizes our thoughts and actually frees us to pray meaningfully to God. Grammar gives order to language and breathes meaning into speech. Jesus did not give us the Lord’s Prayer so that we might mindlessly repeat it (though there is nothing wrong with repeating the Lord’s Prayer with understanding in public settings; indeed, there is everything right about it). Rather, Jesus gave us a pattern for prayer to use frequently. He intended that the concerns of the Lord’s Prayer would be our concerns. He intended to teach us the kind of prayer language that pleases our Father and is good for our souls." – Lendol Calder

What do you think about his thoughts?

Being carried by Grace,
D3LM3

In the mood?

Henri Nouwen – “We cannot plan, organize or manipulate God; but without a careful discipline, we cannot receive him either.”

If things had to depended on our 'moods' before they were 'fixed' then a lot of things in my house wouldn't get done. If the broken gutter or blocked toilet depended on my mood, they would never get fixed. If washing the car or going to the dentist depended on if I was in the mood (or not), they wouldn't get done.

Sadly, many people see prayer in the same way. "I will pray when I feel inspired to, when it is meaningful to me," they say. This doesn't happen as often as it should and so we don't spend much time in prayer. One purpose of prayer is to increase our awareness of Jesus in our lives and the role that he plays in our life. If we only pray when we feel inspired then we miss out on opportunities to increase our awareness of God.

The challenge for all of us, is to be disciplined in prayer. In this way we increase our awareness of God's voice and the plan he has for our lives.

Keep on praying.
D3LM3

God listens

C.S. Lewis – “All prayers are heard, though not all prayers are granted.”

David seemed to strongly believe that God listened to our prayers and that he would answer them in His own way. That's why he wrote:

Psalm 86: 6-7 - “Hear my prayer, O Lord; Listen to my cry for mercy.In the day of my trouble I will call to you, For you will answer me.”

Our prayers reveal the same faith - we believe that God listens and that he will answer our prayers, although over time we accept that all our prayer are not granted.

Held by Grace,
D3LM3

The risk in Prayer

Is there a risk when we pray? When we lay our hearts bare before God isn't there a chance that we will not get our own way? Of course, there is! Prayer is not about me telling God how to answer my prayers, but rather about re-aligning my spirit with God's Spirit.

When I see prayer in this way, then I am open to say what Daniel said: "If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, o King. But even if he does not, we want you to know ... that we will not serve your gods."

My prayers start from a position of trust in God. I can safely say, "Not my will, but yours!" Yancey reminds us that prayer is a way of getting God's will done on earth, not ours!

The other risk in prayer is that God asks us to be the answer to our own prayers. It is easy to prayer for the poor to have food and shelter, but perhaps God is asking us to be his 'hands and feet' in answering the prayer. That is very challenging. Perhaps this is why Eugene Peterson wrote:

"Be slow to pray. Praying puts us at risk of getting involved with God's conditions...praying most often doesn't get us what we want, but what God wants."

Let's be committed to pray. Are you willing to take a Risk?

Empowered by Grace,
D3LM3

Wrestling with God

"Prayer in its highest form and grandest success assumes the attitude of a wrestler with God." - E.M.Bounds

When we read that Jacob wrestled with the angel (Genesis 32) we must not allow the images of WWF to come to our minds. That kind of wrestling is often staged and is a farce. Jacob wrestled with the angel, because he was desperate to be blessed - he wrestled because he felt that his life depended on it.

The theme of wrestling in prayer continues in the New Testament. Colossians 4:12 -"He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured."

May we continue to wrestle in prayer with God. It does not show disrespect to God when we struggle in our prayers. In fact, I believe that it reveals the depth of our relationship with him. We only wrestle when we can trust the character of God.

So what are we struggling with today? What answers are we seeking? What 'blessing' are we desiring?

Wrestling in prayer,
D3LM3

Praying on the run

Most of our prayers are done on the run. Yes, we do have moments where we are fortunate to have a 'quiet time' with the Lord, but most believers admit that their prayers are done whilst running from one thing to the next. This has certainly been my experience the past few days.

It is good to be able to 'pray continually', as this indicates that our relationship with God is not confined to a Church building. However, if this is the only time we pray (on the run), then perhaps we miss out on hearing God speak into our situations. This morning I arrived 5 minutes early for a meeting and I felt I needed a few moments with God, before I rushed into the meeting. So, I sat in the car and prayed (some of you can relate to this). In the end, those 5 minutes have saved my day.

Here are a few thoughts to take into the day:

"In quietness and confidence shall be your strength." - Isaiah 30:15

"Those who wait on the Lord ... shall run and not be weary." - Isaiah 40:31

So, continue to pray 'everywhere' and 'on every occasion', but let's not neglect the practise of praying 'away' from the rush of life.

"Unless we come apart and rest awhile, we may just plain come apart." - Havner

Grace and peace,
D3LM3

Praying in Trouble

Philip Yancey speaks about how many of our prayers tend to drift towards two areas - trouble that we are going through OR trivial things. Jesus invites us to cast all our cares and burdens onto him (Matthew 11:28), so we should never feel guilty about allowing our 'troubles' to drive us to our knees.

To be honest, my prayer today has simply been echoing the words from the David in Psalm 4:1 - this is all the energy I can muster. The kids are ill and we are exhausted.

"Answer me when I call you, O my righteous God. Give me relief from my distress; be merciful to me and hear my prayer."

God knows what we are facing, but somehow our spirits are revived when we invite Jesus to share our burdens. Our situations may not change overnight, but we are reassured that God is in our midst.

"Jesus believed that prayer could really change things." - Philip Yancey

So do I. How about you?

Carried by Grace,
D3LM3