Uninformed Prayer

 October 28, 2022

My prayer list is growing. The older I get, the more people I know who ask for prayers for health, family, our nation, the salvation of loved ones, etc. Add that to those who haven’t asked for prayer, but definitely need it, the list gets longer and longer.

I used to think that every prayer needed to be uttered with long explanation (“Lord, so-and-so is going through a rough time right now. Her marriage is in trouble, she has recurring bouts of gout, and is battling depression…”). It’s almost as if we think God is ill-informed about things, or at least, we think that if we don’t go into detail, somehow the prayer is less heartfelt or sincere.

Certainly there are times when it is helpful to pray in detail, to know circumstances so prayers can be targeted somewhat pinpoint, but most of the things for which I pray don’t fall into this category, particularly if I am praying for friends in Cuba, Mongolia, or even in another state. I want to know the details of various prayer concerns, but the validity and effectiveness of my prayers aren’t dependent on my knowledge of the situation, but upon the power and mercy of God. My eloquence or lack of it have little bearing on the outcome. What does matter is the glory of God. St. Paul in his many recorded prayers often cites the glory of God as the ultimate goal of his prayers (see. Ephesians 3:14-21).

I cannot recall a single instance of a Biblical prayer for healing that goes into great detail about the nature of the illness, but there is much said about prayer as a part of God’s ultimate purposes in this life and the next.

For me, one of the most encouraging texts on prayer is found in Romans 1:9-10—“For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers, making request if, by some means, now at last I may find a way in the will of God to come to you.” I like that little phrase, “I make mention of you.” It implies that Paul didn’t always go into detail, but simply presented them to the Lord with the request that he might visit them for the purposes of ministry. 

More and more, many of my prayers are taking on this pattern. I am seeking God himself more than what he can do, and I’m mentioning many people somewhat in passing, bringing them before the God who knows their circumstances far better than I, and whose love for them is purer and deeper than my own. I’ve forsaken the guilt that often came from not agonizing in detail, trying to imagine the ins and outs of their lives, and simply holding them before God. In doing so, I am enjoying the freedom of letting God be God, instead of me feeling I have to tell him what he needs to do. Prayer is becoming more a matter of listening than requesting. I think that’s the way it’s meant to be.