Prayer
Spirituality
The Four Needs
Prayer is conversation with God. It is being invited to join the conversation of love that is God. It is communion with God.
But it is yet something else to say that God is a conversation. . . . Our prayer is not making conversation with God. It is joining the conversation that is already going on in God. It is being invited to participate in the relationships of intimacy between Father, Son and Holy Spirit. [Martin L. Smith, The Word is Very Near You: A Guide to Praying with Scripture (Cambridge, MA: Cowley Publications, 1989), p. 28]
God works through prayer. Prayer has become so ritualized and “corporatized,” however, that it is no longer understood as imminently practical. But the invitations and instructions that Jesus gives are very practical—the Lord’s Prayer includes such practical needs as people’s yearning for God, their need for bread, for forgiveness, and for security. These are basic requirements for the Christian life.
Since prayer is powerful and effective in centering people on God and asking for God’s involvement in their lives and work, prayer should be embedded in a congregation’s every ministry. In each worship service, there can be prayers for concerns and joys. Every meeting can begin and end in prayer, and when issues are discussed and clarity is needed, prayer should be the natural first response.
Integrating prayer into all aspects of a congregation’s life provides an example for its members: “We do not just say prayer is important, we live it.” When people continually experience prayer as they participate in congregational activities, they are more likely to incorporate prayer into their individual lives so that it eventually becomes a natural response to daily concerns and blessings.
Sermons, Christian education classes, retreats, and other teaching moments in a congregation may explain the importance of prayer and teach people how to pray. Opportunities to pray and be prayed for before, during, and after worship services brings people closer to God and to each other. As the writer of Ephesians urges:
Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints (Ephesians 6:18).
Prayer vigils give people a taste of eternity. One question that lurks in the minds of many (kept to themselves because it seems silly) is, “When I’m in heaven, what do I do forever?” If people pray in a vigil for an assigned hour, and come to realize how agreeably that time passes, they may gain a glimpse of the joy of spending eternity near God.
When conflict arises, prayer is a balm as long as people are careful not to start using prayer like a bombardier: “Balms away!” It is a mistake just to throw prayer at problems and assume they will go away. The better course is to consider the Latin saying, Primum orate, deinde agite—first pray, then act.
Here are guidelines for prayer. First, keep it simple. In litanies. don’t let creativity prevent a humble approach to God. In group prayers, don’t let excessive ornamentation test other people’s patience. or reliance on seventeenth-century English obscure your meaning.
God listens. Then God speaks and you listen. Then you speak. Then maybe you are both silent for a while. Don’t hide how you truly feel and think in the belief that God won’t accept you. God doesn’t want you as you wish you were, but as you are.
Prayer is a difficult discipline for many to undertake. Society values doing over being, action over stillness. The devil crouches watchfully and laughs with delight when people rationalize their forgetfulness to pray. The devil wants to keep Christians from joy. Those who are grounded in prayer learn that being still before God guides and energizes their active ministry.
