I am one of
the least qualified people in the world to write about prayer. I’m not a Bible
scholar or a great prayer warrior. I’m just me, an ordinary person. But because
of the discussions between myself and my sister and because I keep coming
across podcasts on prayer, I felt compelled to share a few thoughts.
When I was
first a Christian, at age 19, I used to beg God for things. I felt fearful and
out of control of certain people and things in my life, so I begged, which did
not lead to peace of mind.
I realized
later that Jesus didn’t pray that way. When he was distressed and frightened
about dying on a cross and having the world’s sins on his heart, he asked God that
if it was possible to please take it away. But he ended his prayers with, “Nevertheless,
not my will, but your will be done.”
So, I quit
begging and ended my prayers in the same way Jesus did. I had also learned,
through trial and error, that God’s way was always the best way. Because of the disastrous consequences of
trying to answer my own prayers by my own ideas and efforts, I gave everything
to him to decide. I thought I was done with begging.
Then last
week, my sister had a chance to perhaps live in a motel instead of her van. She
told me how much better she felt physically because she slept well. I told her
I would pray for her to be able to move into the motel.
As soon as I
started praying, I could feel my emotions rise with desperation for her. I
wanted so much for her to get out of homelessness. Her life wasn’t horrible,
she was staying in campgrounds, which were free because she is a war veteran,
but still, I knew how cramped she was in that van.
I stopped
myself from begging, but the thought came into my mind, “How can I twist God’s
arm to let her be able to live in that motel?” Hmm, I was pretty horrified to
hear my mind thinking that. I told my sister later and we had a good laugh. She
wasn’t able to stay there. They couldn’t let people stay more than three weeks.
My sister is fine with that. She trusts God.
The next
day, I listened to Tim Keller speak about prayer. He believed since Jesus gave
parables about people who “bothered” others, then we should not feel bad about
bothering God about what we need or want. The first parable was about a man who
needed bread for visitors who had come to his house unexpectedly. He didn’t
have enough food, so he went to his friend’s house at midnight knocking on the
door. He woke the friend up who responded, “Don’t bother me. We are all in bed!”
But the man wouldn’t give up and kept knocking until his friend got up and gave
him food.
The second
parable was about a widow who had been cheated out of her money. She kept going
back to the same judge over and over to get justice. The judge didn’t care
about the widow but he finally said to himself, “This woman is going to wear me
out. I might as well give her what she wants.”
Jesus said
the parables meant not to give up when you are praying. You can bring your
concerns to him over and over again. You can’t bother God.
I do have
some prayers I pray every single day. Those are the prayers for my family and
other people. I know these prayers make a difference. I know God looks after
these people because I ask.
There is a
way to pray I’ve learned lately that I really like. I listen to audio Bible and
as she reads the verses, I pray along. If the Bible says, “Praise the Lord,” I pray
it. If it says, “Obey God,” I say, “Help me to obey you.” If it says, “The Lord
is a shield around me, he is my glory and the lifter of my head.” I repeat the
verse. It’s an easy and lovely way to pray, using God’s own words.
The last
thing I will share is I often pray the Lord’s Prayer. Because it starts with, “Our
Father… I pray it for me and my family.
