Prayer Prayer Lessons
Prayer Lessons
PRAYER LESSON 144
Prayer is Relationship Based
In his day, Jesus denounced the practice of prayer of the Pharisees because it was performance focused. They thought that prayer was a ritual that they must practice to be right with God. They used prayer as a way of showing off to those who observed them praying. Jesus said about them in Matthew 6:5 "And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.Jesus told his disciples that prayer was about a relationship with the Father, an intimate relationship with the creator. The disciples were use to seeing the pharisees pray and may have been modeling their prayers after the Pharisees. When Jesus condemned the Pharisee’s prayers the disciples responded by asking Jesus to teach them to pray. Jesus then gave them the model prayer we call the Lord’s Prayer.
The Lord’s prayer is all about this relationship God wants with us. Remember a relationship with the Father is only possible because Jesus’ death dealt with our sins, the very sins that kept us from this relationship in the past.
In the Lord’s Prayer we recognize the distinction between us and God. We also see the extent of this new relationship we have with our Father. We can call him our Father, and yet we quickly recognize his holiness, his infinite difference from us. God is almighty, so he has the power to answer our requests. He is also all loving, so he will want to answer them.
It is not in God’s plans to disappoint us. He says through the prophet Jeremiah in Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. This desire on the part of God to answer us is a result of the relationship we have with him.
So, when you pray, remember that you are praying to a God who loves you very much and has the power to answer even your greatest request.
I come from a Christian tradition where prayer is seen as mostly a private matter and not something done very often in public. If prayer is done in public it is usually a prayer offered by a leader without the participation of others.
In the more liturgical Christian traditions, prayer is more formal and prayers are often written ahead of time. It’s focus is on God and his sovereignty and not so much about the lives of those praying. In Africa, prayer times are noisy, action filled affairs. Often everyone is praying out loud at the same time. These prayer times also include lots of movement, and swaying and dancing often accompany these prayers. They also pray with expectancy, assuming God will answer while they pray.
In the Quaker tradition, the congregation may sit quietly for extended periods of time while waiting for the Holy Spirit to prompt them to pray. In other traditions, people fall to their knees and cry out to God. Some talk to God in formal language, others pray as if talking to a close friend. Some pray with a lot of spontaneity as they are led by the Spirit. Others focus on the majesty and sovereignty of God. Some pray for hours, others for only a few seconds.
I believe God loves the various ways his people relate to him. He has designed people to have different interests and tastes and that carries over into our prayer lives, as well. So, if you find your prayer life has gotten a little boring, get together with those of different Christian traditions and allow God to broaden your experiences with him.