devotionFOURTHTEEN - Prayer: A Beginning

I am a beginner in the discipline of prayer. Perhaps I always will be. It is a discipline rich enough to fill our whole lives, because it is relationship with God. I grew up in a faith tradition that, while it thinks highly of prayer and sincerely affirms it, never taught me how to pray. And there is no question that prayer is difficult and mysterious. Many books on prayer that I find on bookstore shelves and in library stacks begin with the author’s concession about how much he does not know about prayer. There is always something of prayer that remains shrouded in mystery, because we’re communing with God, who is profoundly other, spectacularly higher than we are.

But at the same time, much of what is knowable about prayer remains a mystery to so many of us simply because we keep it at arm’s length. Some of us fear the intimacy, we fear the silence—we are utterly discomfited by the quietness. Some of us are faithless and no longer really believe in the efficacy of prayer—we have come to believe that prayer does nothing. Some of us are disappointed by prayer: We have asked God to act or move in a certain way and have been met only with silence, and our lives remain in a state of pain and turmoil.

I have been frightened by the silence of prayer—by communion with the Holy One, the Almighty. I have allowed sin to keep me from my Father. Maybe some of you are walking away from the very One who yearns to run to you and embrace you.

I have walked through periods of serious theological confusion about prayer. The reasoning was, “If God is sovereign and will do what he will do, is my prayer efficacious or even reasonable? In other words, if God is a theological juggernaut, then prayers of intercession and supplication are worthless, and I should only concern myself with prayers of thanksgiving and praise.” Maybe some of you are embracing that confusion.

I have been disappointed in prayer—prayed for healing and received none, prayed for relief and found none. I have misunderstood the purposes and person of God. Maybe some of you are losing hope just as I have.

There are many questions people have concerning prayer: What is it? What do I pray about? How do I pray? What is permissible, and impermissible, in prayer? Is there anything impermissible in prayer? Are there other kinds of prayer of which I should be aware, or is the spontaneous vocalization of my heart the extent of Christian prayer? Does prayer accomplish anything? When and how often should I pray? Where should I pray?

I want to struggle through some of these questions and begin to answer them for myself. I am not so foolish as to believe that I will be able to plumb the depths of prayer in these small articles or in my short lifetime. But come along with me anyway. Together we can extend our hands into the dark and slowly feel our way forward, using the lights that others have left for us in their exploration of this multifaceted and treasure-filled cavern. And we must pray—for that is the only way we will ever truly come to know how to pray.

We can begin. Try to commit to a discipline of prayer in your life. Maybe it will only be a moment or two before bed or as you rise, or five minutes during your lunch break. That is your decision, of course, but it is a decision that must be made.

Prayer is one of the most important things we fail to do. And it is not something we can set aside—it is at the heart of what it means to be a Christian.

kev