Prayer

Verse: Matthew 26:41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”

Question: What is prayer, why is it important, what does it mean to you?

Last week I came across a prayer that I connect with well, which I would like to share:

1 Hear my prayer, Lord; let my cry for help come to you.
2 Do not hide your face from me when I am in distress.
Turn your ear to me; when I call, answer me quickly.
3 For my days vanish like smoke; my bones burn like glowing embers.
4 My heart is blighted and withered like grass; I forget to eat my food.
5 In my distress I groan aloud and am reduced to skin and bones.
6 I am like a desert owl, like an owl among the ruins.
7 I lie awake; I have become like a bird alone on a roof.

The interesting thing about this prayer is that it is from the bible, from Psalm 102, and many of the psalms are also prayers to God which have been set to music. We see the bible as being given by God to us, so God has given us examples of how to talk with Him.

And even the songs we sing in worship, their words in praise of God are also a prayer of praise to God set to music.

So, we are in prayer a lot more than we realise. But when prayer becomes part of the worship program it can easily become impersonal, and we no longer recognise it as prayer.

Prayer is personal time with God, both talking and listening.

Prayer is very personal. It doesn’t have rules or a defined structure, any more than talking with your earthly father or your brother has a definite structure to follow. I suggest the only rules are that it needs to be completely honest and sincere, and completely personal. So, informal is best, and the term used by Jesus of Abba translates as “Daddy”.

There’s a risk that when we pray as a group, we can lose that personal aspect, and if it becomes formal, it can become a mere ritual that is lacking in personal faith and commitment. As much as I enjoy the beautiful music and poetic words of liturgical worship you find in traditional Catholic and Anglican churches (a recording of Mozart’s requiem was the first LP I recall buying), and I think they may have a benefit in catching the interest of non-believers, it is the personal relationship with God which brings faith to life. That focus is what I find in worship in this church, and also why I am blessed to be on the data projection roster – it forces me to concentrate on each of the words in our songs, and their meaning sinks in and become a personal prayer, whereas if I was just listening in my tired state of a Sunday morning to what others were singing, it would just be music.

Prayer is important to me because, as our verse says, the body is weak, and prayer keeps me focussed on the things of God and guides me away from temptation.

I also like how Romans 8:26 describes those times when I am too weak to know what to say in prayer, but the Spirit does the praying for us, beyond human words.

Matthew 5:44 tells us to pray for those who persecute you. I think that is humanly impossible, because prayer needs to be honest and from the heart, not according to rules about what we must pray for. But the impossible is made possible through prayer – at those times I have prayed for a desire to be able to pray for those who wrong me, and it is amazing how that can turn my outlook around and lift me above the bitterness some people may wish to give.

Matthew 6:5-13, tells us that prayer is not a public performance, it is private and personal to God, and short and simple.

Matthew 21:22 reads, “If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” If you believe means that what you ask for in prayer will be what God wants to give you in abundance — not “toys for the boys”, nor earthly riches.

Luke 5:16 tells us Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed, so we will be blessed as we follow his example.

Luke 18 tells of the prayers of the Pharisee and tax collector – if we come to God assured of our self-righteousness, we are blocking God out of our lives. It is only when we recognise our sin, our complete lack of righteousness, and our need for God’s righteousness in Jesus, that we can be honest to God.

Acts 2:42 tells us that prayer is one of the basic parts of worship, and it can convey the gospel to others.

Our bible references also gave examples of what we might pray for, which we included in our closing group prayer:

• That the eyes of our hearts may be enlightened;
• That we may know the hope to which you have called us;
• Strengthen us with power through your Spirit;
• That you, Lord Jesus, will dwell in our hearts through faith;
• That our love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight;
• That we may be able to discern what is best, that we may be pure and blameless;
• That we not be anxious about anything, but present our requests to you with thanksgiving;
• That we learn to give thanks in all circumstances.

See related verses: https://group.questionsandbelief.org/related-verses-prayer/