The Power of Prayer
(Read Psalm 25)
At the ripe age of 12, my best friend and I learned how to surf. We had spent the last two years studying the accomplished surfers. We watched everything, how the sandbars shifted, where they would paddle out, which waves they would choose, how they recovered from wipeouts, and so on. My brother decided it was finally our time. I will never forget the feeling of fear in my chest! My first time out that warm summer morning, the water was shimmering, kissed by early morning sunlight. The waves weren’t big but they were steep. I had my butt kicked again and again. I wasn’t very encouraged. But through this anxiety, my brother was my guide. He was patient, he listened to my fears, and more than just a brother, he was my supportive friend.
I was beaten. After seeing my discouragement and desperation my brother said, “Let’s break and have lunch.” Later that afternoon, the tide went out, the shallow ocean got a bit sloppy, and the waves flattened out. This time, my friend joined my brother and me. My brother coached us to our first waves. It was probably one of the biggest rushes in my life. The three of us surfed all afternoon. The fear was gone.
In my distress I called to the Lord;
I cried to my God for help.
From his temple he heard my voice;
my cry came before him, into his ears.
Psalm 18:6
My surfing story is kind of a microcosm of life. We are going to face uncertain times in life. Heartaches, trials, failures, and tragedies, like an unpredictable ocean, can’t be navigated without help. Without help, we’re not equipped to know how to swim, let alone survive the unforeseen dangers of a chaotic ocean. So, what do we do? We pray.
King David, in Psalm 18, was desperately crying for God’s help and protection. Saul, the former King of Israel who fell out of favor with God, was seeking to exterminate David. When we pray out of despair like David did, our cries for help, uncover complete vulnerability to both God and ourselves and allows us a personal connection with God. This sincere conversation reminds us of the context and reality of our lives.
With all the distractions and temptations we face in the volatile world, prayer connects us with the bigger picture. My relative said, “When I pray, I try to be still, quiet, and centered so I can ask questions and listen for answers. I also ask for help or how I can be of help.” Prayer is a conversation with the one being who can change our lives and demonstrate to us how we can change.
While churches, fellow well-meaning Christians, and Pastors stress the virtues of prayer, they don’t always do a great job of teaching how to make prayer meaningful. The Psalms show us magnificent examples of why we pray, how to pray, and what to expect from prayer.
The Lord confides in those who fear him;
he makes his covenant known to them.
Psalm 25:14
When we have an intimate relationship with God, it opens up a two-way channel of communication. True friends confide in each other. A friend told me that, “Outside of my devotional time, my prayers are more spontaneous as God lays something or someone on my heart. That tends to be a simple conversation with God about the issue at hand.” Another relative added, “Each day is totally unique and dependent on the circumstances of the day. Sometimes it’s just what comes to mind. Other times it’s based on what I’ve read or listened to.”
Why do we pray? We pray to reveal what’s in our hearts. We pray for the benefit of someone else. God, the Creator, knows what’s inside us and He wants us to share it with Him. In prayer, we pour our soul’s deepest, darkest thoughts with our Heavenly Father of universe. Another friend, said, “There are certain things that I pray for and ask for God’s help, However, that method shifts depending on people I’m praying for and situations in life that I encounter. Sometimes, there are circumstances in life, due to sickness or death in the family, where people can’t pray for themselves, I’ll pray on their behalf.”
A friend, said, “My prayers are a combination of liturgical prayers, scripture prayers, and just simple heart cries and questions.” She continued, “They vary by circumstances, like praying for my own or others’ personal struggles, etc. Sometimes they are just silence.” On our own, we can’t fix everything. When we put ourselves first, sometimes we believe it. All the money in the world, can’t bring global peace or cure cancer. Often, we rely on our own abilities to resolve every crisis we face. Then, life throws another mountain at us.
Another relative said, “I pray for my list of people who have health issues or are struggling in some way and people who have asked me to pray for them in a similar way. Then during the day as people come to mind I say a quick prayer for them. I have heard them called arrow prayers.”
This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.
1 John 5:14-15
How do we pray? We need to pray with authenticity, not hypocrisy. Our prayers should be direct, not repetitive, and never directed in malice towards someone. Many of the folks I asked about prayer don’t have specific rituals for prayers, although some do.
“I pray for the Lord to open my heart to the Bible and what I’m reading,” my friend said. His wife added, “Each day, my prayers are unique, however I routinely pray each morning with gratitude, then my husband and I pray together before we fall asleep.”
People pray everywhere anytime. Some pray in their car, at work, at the store, at home, or whenever they feel moved. I will often pray in my car or on my runs because it’s an intense alone time I experience with God. These prayers are as random as the wind, but I feel the closeness from conversing the Lord in this informal way.
“There’s not a lot of pattern in my prayer life right now. There used to be, but now I pray on my commute mostly. I’m also in the middle of listening to a sermon series on Spotify,” a family member told me. Someone told me, “I have no method, rhyme, or reason. No time or dedicated place. I will say though it’s usually in the car when I’m by myself, however laying in Bed before going to sleep works too. I guess you can say I am a spontaneous prayer.”
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7
There’s a proper time for both ritualistic prayer and spontaneous prayer. Structured prayer sets a foundation for trust and worship in our Divine Father. It gives us something to build on and allows for communal prayer. Spontaneous prayer is liberating. When an event moves us, or news strikes us down, we can always resort to prayer to give us a map to find a new way.
According to the Apostle Paul who wrote Philippians, every single thing that affects our lives can be calmed by prayer, thanksgiving, and praise. We are transformed through prayer. We don’t know how God makes this transformation happen, we just know that it “transcends” our comprehension.
“I do have rituals, certain times of the day, before I get in bed, before I eat, etc. and I use certain words like the prayer of thanksgiving before eating, that are daily,” said a neighbor. “But I also talk to God at undefined times throughout the day asking for forgiveness when I have negative thoughts about someone or some thing, when I hear that someone is not well, and when I recognize that God has spared us, I resort to sheer praise.”
A lot of people seem to pray at the end of their day in bed before going to sleep. I like that one, I need to try it.
“I pray every night just before I fall asleep usually just a giving thanks for the day, and every morning when I first wake up. Then, throughout the day sporadically usually as a reaction to something I’ve heard or seen. So yes and no as far as your pattern question. I sleep much better when I get a good night’s prayer in. I usually read till I start to nod off. Then pray. Sometimes it’s a minute…Sometimes a lot longer.”
We pray and God hears us. How do we know? We know because of what’s written in the Bible. We know we are heard because of the amazing changes we see when we pray or simply that we see changes in ourselves. Sometimes God is reluctant to answer our prayers when we want Him to and the way we want Him to, and sometimes he’s aligning us to His will, to His plan. We have no control over how life works out. Whether you’re a believer or not, there’s no disputing this.
Prayer is so powerful and important, that Jesus gave us a model to start with. It’s not made of a 1,000 run-on words and bloated language, it’s to the point, first by giving God glory, then by petition, and finally with submission.
“This, then, is how you should pray:
‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.’
Matthew 6:9-13
A friend wrote, “I have a set of reflections I read every morning and then I say prayers for people in my life based on their needs. And I pray daily for deceased family members too.”
Prayer can be as unique as we are. There is no pattern. “Depending on my moods,” someone wrote, “most of my prayers turn into conversations with the Lord. I ask very little for myself, usually I focus on praying for other people, like close friends who are battling brain cancer.”
The Ten Commandments, like the Lord’s Prayer, begin with petitions and Jesus showed us that it’s OK to use them in prayer. It’s acceptable to ask God to heal, help, and save someone. That’s what intimate friends do. As long as we recognize that God sees things differently from the way we do. Our prayers shouldn’t be a shopping list every time we pray because that’s putting total focus on how we want things. There’s no room for questions, answers, and change.
“I feel like I go through seasons of structure and other times it’s a little more unique,” a relative told me.
What do we expect from prayer? In my conversations with people about their prayer life, while many of us definitely pray for healing and miracles, I feel that most of the time we’re just asking God to be present with someone. To comfort them, to have mercy on them. Life is so challenging as it is, taking on loss of employment, the death of family, sickness, divorce, or abandonment is not something we want to do in isolation. We need a friend.
Blessed is the one
who does not walk in step with the wicked
stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers,
but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
and who meditates on his law day and night.
That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
whatever they do prospers.
Psalm 1:1-3
It bugs me a little when I hear someone say, “I don’t really believe in prayers, please just think positive thoughts for me.” People of all religions pray. People who call themselves “spiritual” also pray. There is valuable merit in all forms of prayer, but if prayer is not based on surrendering yourself to God, what does it actually do? Thinking good thoughts for someone barely scratches the surface and really isn’t much of a commitment to that person. Merely thinking positive thoughts has no lasting effect and leaves the well-wisher unchanged.
“I pray to have faith in a power greater than myself and trust in that,” a relative confided. She wants change. We pray to be changed. Sure we want our friend, relative, neighbor, pet to be comforted, but like it or not we can’t be unmoved when we pray. It’s a metamorphosis from a conversation with God.
While praying on my run this morning, I noticed that my prayers had suspended time. I was only focused on what I was praying about and nothing else. Max Lucado said, “You can’t pray and worry at the same time.” So true. If we’re just crossing our fingers and hoping for the best, we get none of the benefits of prayer.
A relative wrote that, “First I thank God for giving me a brand-new day and for keeping me healthy. I am grateful for everything that has been given me and I ask forgiveness for all the wrongs that I’ve done. I then move on to family and friends who need prayers.”
I have been surfing for 48 years. Until today, I hadn’t thought about that first day. When talking with people about their prayer-life and hearing their willingness to be a force of change through prayer, it gave me such hope. It quieted the dark, scary, ocean from my memories. We navigate the dangerous and turbulent waters as we wait for Jesus to rescue us.
When learning how to surf, I had a trusted advisor. He was thoughtful, deliberate, and kind. To journey through the pitfalls in life, we too need a trusted advisor, a wonderful counselor, a prince of peace. We don’t have the ability to take on what the world throws at us — alone.
If you are not praying, then you are quietly confident that time, money, and talent are all you need in life. You’ll always be a little too tired, a little too busy to pray. But if, like Jesus, you realize you can’t do life on your own, then no matter how busy, no matter how tired you are, you will find the time.
(Paul Miller, A Praying Life, 37)
Key Applications:
1] Read Psalm 25.
2] Have you ever prayed out of desperation? When we do, we’re more humble and more honest. Treat God as a lifelong friend. Let him in.
3] How do you pray. To strengthen your relationship with Christ, mix it up. Try praying more often. Try a new place to spend quiet time with the Lord.
Where else in your life can you live out the teachings of Christ? Look for next week’s Devotion.