Grocery-List Prayers

 October 5, 2022

I’ve been going to prayer meetings since I was a teenager, some of which have inspired me, and others that have simply left me feeling discouraged and disillusioned. Yesterday, I came across a little book that gives me hope. The author begins by stating his own disappointment with what he calls “traditional request-based,” or “grocery-list” approach to prayer. That up-front admission caught my attention and pulled me on board. 

I can’t remember ever attending a prayer meeting that spent any significant time in praise and worship. In our men’s Bible study group, we often end with prayer requests, but rarely do we invest much time simply in worship and praise. Inevitably, the prayer requests are heavily weighted towards prayers for the sick. Prayers for the salvation of family and friends, for wisdom in decisions, forgiveness for sins, or for church and government leaders take second, third, and fourth place behind health issues.

I’m not complaining about what we choose as the subject of our prayers, but simply am pointing out that we have too often neglected the object of our prayers—God himself. I’ve often spoken of my melancholic tendencies that only worsen when my attention is focused on how I’m feeling. When it seems as if God is distant, focusing on how that makes me feel is self-defeating because the focus is…on myself. If instead, I turn my attention to God, he draws me close. It’s in the Bible: God draws close to the humble-hearted. Focusing on my feelings is prideful, not humble. Doing so says in effect, “I am the most important party in this prayer.” 

The same is true when our focus is on our needs or even the needs of others. Doing so treats God as a puppet; pull the right strings to make him dance. It’s an easy trap to fall into, but it is deadly to the prayer life. Psalm 100 says it well: “Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise.” (V.4) Tonight, I am praising God for his holiness (I’ve been reading about that in Leviticus), and thanking him for his salvation, mercy, and grace.