Sunday, March 4, 2018

Problems with Prayer

March 4, 2018

What is your default mode? When crisis hits, where do you almost automatically turn? Or when you aren’t thinking of anything in particular, where do your thoughts take you?
I’ve been asking myself these questions lately, and haven’t been very happy with my answers, particularly my answers to the second question. In crisis, it’s a slam dunk that I turn to the Lord. But when I’m not deliberately thinking of something, my mind wanders all over the place, from political issues to whatever activity, project, or toy that has most recently captured my attention. None of these things are in themselves sinful, but this morning on my way to church, it occurred to me that letting my mind wander to everything under the sun isn’t how I should be preparing to lead worship. 

The old hymn, “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” has a line that convicts me every time I hear it: “Prone to wander, Lord I feel it; Prone to leave the God I love.” There was a time in my life when that wandering took me far from the God I love, but now the wandering is more subtle. When I want to focus on God, my mind fights me. I read of saints who spend hours in prayer, and I wonder, “What do they talk about?” My wife says I can’t even carry on a decent conversation unless I have notes, and she’s not far wrong. I sometimes feel like the old Russian Jew who was discussing prayer with his rabbi. “When you pray, you have everyone in the synagogue, and the cares of the world. It’s no wonder you can pray at length. But me...what do I have? A sore bunion, a nagging wife, and a flea-bitten goat. So I say, ‘Foot, wife, goat,’ and I’m done.” 

I don’t have a nagging wife, but I resonate with this man’s predicament. The problem is three-fold. First, I was taught that in the Bible, God talks to us; in prayer, we talk to God. So for years, prayer for me has been a one-way street. This leads to the second predicament in which prayer becomes little more than a laundry list of things I want God to attend to. If we’re not careful, prayer can turn things upside down, where we see ourselves as the boss, and God little more than a lackey who does our bidding. Laundry list prayers in turn become little more than a recitation of complaints with little expectation that anything will come of it. Prayers like this lack intimacy with God, foster a prideful independence, and low expectations. It’s no wonder we have trouble praying when prayer has been reduced to such a low common denominator.

My favorite definition of prayer is this: “Rebellion against the status quo.” Things are not as they should be, and prayer is the first step in turning things around. And the first step in prayer is acknowledging the One to whom we pray. Prayer as a dialogue instead of a monologue is essential if it is to have any life. And it is God who always begins the dialogue, which means prayer begins with listening. It is significant that the Lord’s Prayer begins with acknowledging God and seeking his kingdom and will before making any request. 

My mind still tends to wander. Like any skill, prayer takes practice if we want to get better at it. When I am practicing my bass, I start with the basics—slowly drawing the bow across the strings till I get a good sound and slowly playing scales before I turn to the music. When working on a particular piece, I’ll go through the entire thing, but then return to the difficult places, going over them again and again till I can play them right. Prayer works the same way; go over the basics, cover the entire range of subject matter, then work on areas of difficulty. 


For me, I’m working on deliberately turning my mind towards God, keeping a running conversation with him no matter what I’m doing. I’m far from accomplished, but this morning’s reminder encourages me to keep at it. So tonight, I’m grateful that instead of scolding, the Holy Spirit gently reminds me of where I need to be, so I won’t merely settle for ‘good enough.’ Because when it comes to my relationship with Jesus Christ, good enough is never good enough.

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