Why Even Pray?
Why even Pray?
This past Saturday, my family went out for a walk. As we left the house, I locked the front door and put the key bunch in the baby stroller. On our way back, we started to look for the key bunch. I was convinced that I did put it in the stroller, so I searched and looked. I then concluded that it must have fallen out. At the same time, I began to wonder if I actually removed the key from the front door after I had locked it. I started to trace our way back and look along the side walk. We got to the house and I was hoping it may be at the door and it was not. I concluded that may be someone saw the key at the door and took it and now a stranger has access to our house. However, we managed to get into the house with a spare key through the back door. By now I was very frustrated and I went back again to look tracing our way. I started to pray and ask God to help me find the key. If you had seen me, you would probably think I was crazy. I was walking very slowly and mumbling prayers, and looking down. I traced my way to where we had been and still did not find the key bunch. By now, I was at my highest level of frustration. A small voice whispered to, just go back to the house, sit down and relax and I did. As I sat down, I started to pray again. After a while, it came to me to go again and search the stroller carefully which I did. Bingo! The key bunch fell into a hidden corner of the stroller where I would not have suspected. At this time, my blood pressure came down. I called out to UD and Jonathan with excitement and I began to thank God. Okay, please stop laughing at me because I know you have looked for your key before; may be not as crazy as I was.
The above episode was my lesson in prayer. Did I have to pray in order to find the key that was lost but not really lost? One could say if I had not prayed, I would not have found the key and that the only reason I found the key was because I prayed. Another could say, well, the key was always in the stroller and you did not have to pray because you still would have found the key. Why even pray? Jesus prayed and He is my example, so I prayed. Like the disciples asked, “Lord, teach us to pray”.
Luke 11: 1-13:
1 Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.”
2 So He said to them, “When you pray, say:
Our Father in heaven,[a]
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.[b]
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
3 Give us day by day our daily bread.
4 And forgive us our sins,
For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.” [c]
5Then he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend, and he goes to him at midnight and says, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, 6because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him.'
7"Then the one inside answers, 'Don't bother me. The door is already locked, and my children are with me in bed. I can't get up and give you anything.' 8I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man's boldness[e] he will get up and give him as much as he needs.
9"So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
11"Which of you fathers, if your son asks for[f] a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"
Here are some observations from the passage in addition to the ones you may have:
1. Jesus was not just praying a one time prayer. Prayer was His life style. “One day Jesus was praying”. Dr. Luke always highlighted the prayer life of Jesus. Christ being fully God and fully man prayed. Being God, he did not have to pray. But as the “Son of Man” He humbled himself and submitted to the Father and prayed. Prayer will humble you and me. Show me a prayer-less man and I will show you a prideful man. They are both the same. Guess what? God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.
2. “Lord, teach us to pray”! I have always read this as “Lord, teach us how to pray”. It may be a translation issue but read again because the word “how” was not in the text. I believe the disciples meant “teach us to pray” meaning, we have not been praying as we should, but help us to begin to pray as we should. There is a vital difference here because any misunderstanding at this point will color our understanding of what prayer is all about. Why even pray? Jesus said, “When you pray” and not “if you pray”. The mechanics and method of praying is not the issue it is praying period.
3. “Our Father”. The word used here for “Father” is “Abba”. It is equivalent to our own word, “Daddy or papa”. It connotes a very tender and intimate relationship. I know that from my son Jonathan (now 2.5 years) looking into my face and calling me daddy. He often repeats it a couple times and always, I melt in me. The primary reason for prayer is for us to stay connected to daddy, “our Father”. Like Jonathan, getting something from me is very secondary because he knows and trusts that I will take good care of him. Remember Jesus said except we come as little children, we cannot enter the kingdom of God. Let’s get rid of the notion that we “pray to get” things from God.
4. Prayer is a spiritual expression and not a natural expression of our humanness. There is no real desire to pray for any person who is not yet born again by the Spirit of God. Remember, Jesus said we will now worship the Father in “spirit and in truth”. Prayer is that worship because God is Spirit and prayer is the currency/language/means of the Spirit. Without prayer and the Word of God, we cannot relate to God who is spirit. “We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express and…in accordance with God’s will” (Romans 8:26-27). Let’s not dwell on discovering all the mystery of prayer. There is no science to prayer. Just pray.
5. God’s will must be done. “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven”. “Not my will but yours be done” as Jesus prayed in His crucial time. We cannot manipulate God or twist his arm to do what He never wanted to do. Neither does God need our permission to do things on earth. He is God period. When was the last time He consulted you and me? It is very absurd for me to ask permission from Jonathan to do the very basic things He needs my help for. I know his needs and I gladly do them whether he ask or not. Some times, his crying helps me become aware of the need. So let’s cry (ask, seek, knock) to God not so he will know but because He is our daddy, papa Father. “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” Also, keep in mind that our heavenly Father is better than the man in the above parable who only gave because of his friend’s persistence.
6. Prayer must change me and then and only then will the things around me change because I now see them differently. “Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us”. Prayer is a constant reminder that I have been forgiven, so I must forgive others. Our daily bread and every other care are taken care of because the greatest need in my life which is forgiveness of my sins has been provided for already in Christ. “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all – how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32).
Let us recover what prayer is all about from this age of “name and claim it” as if God is a vending machine. The “prosperity gospel” teachers have twisted prayer. You and I do not call things into existence. I used to subscribe to this nonsense. Only God calls things into existence because He is the creator. Better even is that He is “Our Father”, “Abba, Daddy and Papa. We can run to His welcoming arms any time. May the Lord teach us to pray and not just how to pray because prayer sustains our relationship with God just as air is necessary for our breathing and living. Will you pray today? Please pray for me to pray. Amen.
This past Saturday, my family went out for a walk. As we left the house, I locked the front door and put the key bunch in the baby stroller. On our way back, we started to look for the key bunch. I was convinced that I did put it in the stroller, so I searched and looked. I then concluded that it must have fallen out. At the same time, I began to wonder if I actually removed the key from the front door after I had locked it. I started to trace our way back and look along the side walk. We got to the house and I was hoping it may be at the door and it was not. I concluded that may be someone saw the key at the door and took it and now a stranger has access to our house. However, we managed to get into the house with a spare key through the back door. By now I was very frustrated and I went back again to look tracing our way. I started to pray and ask God to help me find the key. If you had seen me, you would probably think I was crazy. I was walking very slowly and mumbling prayers, and looking down. I traced my way to where we had been and still did not find the key bunch. By now, I was at my highest level of frustration. A small voice whispered to, just go back to the house, sit down and relax and I did. As I sat down, I started to pray again. After a while, it came to me to go again and search the stroller carefully which I did. Bingo! The key bunch fell into a hidden corner of the stroller where I would not have suspected. At this time, my blood pressure came down. I called out to UD and Jonathan with excitement and I began to thank God. Okay, please stop laughing at me because I know you have looked for your key before; may be not as crazy as I was.
The above episode was my lesson in prayer. Did I have to pray in order to find the key that was lost but not really lost? One could say if I had not prayed, I would not have found the key and that the only reason I found the key was because I prayed. Another could say, well, the key was always in the stroller and you did not have to pray because you still would have found the key. Why even pray? Jesus prayed and He is my example, so I prayed. Like the disciples asked, “Lord, teach us to pray”.
Luke 11: 1-13:
1 Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.”
2 So He said to them, “When you pray, say:
Our Father in heaven,[a]
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.[b]
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
3 Give us day by day our daily bread.
4 And forgive us our sins,
For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.” [c]
5Then he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend, and he goes to him at midnight and says, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, 6because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him.'
7"Then the one inside answers, 'Don't bother me. The door is already locked, and my children are with me in bed. I can't get up and give you anything.' 8I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man's boldness[e] he will get up and give him as much as he needs.
9"So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
11"Which of you fathers, if your son asks for[f] a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"
Here are some observations from the passage in addition to the ones you may have:
1. Jesus was not just praying a one time prayer. Prayer was His life style. “One day Jesus was praying”. Dr. Luke always highlighted the prayer life of Jesus. Christ being fully God and fully man prayed. Being God, he did not have to pray. But as the “Son of Man” He humbled himself and submitted to the Father and prayed. Prayer will humble you and me. Show me a prayer-less man and I will show you a prideful man. They are both the same. Guess what? God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.
2. “Lord, teach us to pray”! I have always read this as “Lord, teach us how to pray”. It may be a translation issue but read again because the word “how” was not in the text. I believe the disciples meant “teach us to pray” meaning, we have not been praying as we should, but help us to begin to pray as we should. There is a vital difference here because any misunderstanding at this point will color our understanding of what prayer is all about. Why even pray? Jesus said, “When you pray” and not “if you pray”. The mechanics and method of praying is not the issue it is praying period.
3. “Our Father”. The word used here for “Father” is “Abba”. It is equivalent to our own word, “Daddy or papa”. It connotes a very tender and intimate relationship. I know that from my son Jonathan (now 2.5 years) looking into my face and calling me daddy. He often repeats it a couple times and always, I melt in me. The primary reason for prayer is for us to stay connected to daddy, “our Father”. Like Jonathan, getting something from me is very secondary because he knows and trusts that I will take good care of him. Remember Jesus said except we come as little children, we cannot enter the kingdom of God. Let’s get rid of the notion that we “pray to get” things from God.
4. Prayer is a spiritual expression and not a natural expression of our humanness. There is no real desire to pray for any person who is not yet born again by the Spirit of God. Remember, Jesus said we will now worship the Father in “spirit and in truth”. Prayer is that worship because God is Spirit and prayer is the currency/language/means of the Spirit. Without prayer and the Word of God, we cannot relate to God who is spirit. “We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express and…in accordance with God’s will” (Romans 8:26-27). Let’s not dwell on discovering all the mystery of prayer. There is no science to prayer. Just pray.
5. God’s will must be done. “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven”. “Not my will but yours be done” as Jesus prayed in His crucial time. We cannot manipulate God or twist his arm to do what He never wanted to do. Neither does God need our permission to do things on earth. He is God period. When was the last time He consulted you and me? It is very absurd for me to ask permission from Jonathan to do the very basic things He needs my help for. I know his needs and I gladly do them whether he ask or not. Some times, his crying helps me become aware of the need. So let’s cry (ask, seek, knock) to God not so he will know but because He is our daddy, papa Father. “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” Also, keep in mind that our heavenly Father is better than the man in the above parable who only gave because of his friend’s persistence.
6. Prayer must change me and then and only then will the things around me change because I now see them differently. “Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us”. Prayer is a constant reminder that I have been forgiven, so I must forgive others. Our daily bread and every other care are taken care of because the greatest need in my life which is forgiveness of my sins has been provided for already in Christ. “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all – how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32).
Let us recover what prayer is all about from this age of “name and claim it” as if God is a vending machine. The “prosperity gospel” teachers have twisted prayer. You and I do not call things into existence. I used to subscribe to this nonsense. Only God calls things into existence because He is the creator. Better even is that He is “Our Father”, “Abba, Daddy and Papa. We can run to His welcoming arms any time. May the Lord teach us to pray and not just how to pray because prayer sustains our relationship with God just as air is necessary for our breathing and living. Will you pray today? Please pray for me to pray. Amen.
Comments