Articles From Our Bulletins
The Expressions of Prayer
The ability to pour out our hearts to the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe knowing that He not only hears, but also is genuinely concerned with and amenable to our pleas, is such a tremendous blessing. It truly boggles the human mind to think of such intimate conversation with Almighty God! Jesus well knew and longed for this fellowship with the Father during the time of His sojourn upon the earth. He often slipped away from the thronging multitudes, and even His own disciples, to spend precious hours in holy communication. It is no wonder that Christians are urged to “pray without ceasing,” 1Thessalonians 5:17! We have this supreme privilege due to divine paternity, “For you have no received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, ‘Abba! Father!’,” Romans 8:15. However…
For some of us, prayer is little more than a recitation of our felt needs and desires to a Celestial Santa Clause “God”- the heavenly ATM of physical blessings we presume to deserve because of an assumed spiritual relationship with Him (which, by the way, exists entirely upon our own terms). While there is certainly nothing wrong with petitioning the Father with our heart-felt desires (cf. Romans 10:1), and we are even encouraged to do so by God Himself (Philippians 4:6), it is also true that such entreaties must be based upon a right relationship with Him, cf. 1Peter 3:12, and offered in genuine faith, cf. James 1:6.
But let’s think beyond the benefits of prayer that are associated with God’s gracious granting of our petitions. Consider the practice itself. Understand that the act of pious praying is a beautiful expression of other essential elements of Christianity:
- Prayer is an Expression of Faith. It must be- why else would we pray at all? Unless we “believe that He is,” Hebrews 11:6, there is no reason to pray, as there would be no one to hear our pleas. But the one who truly has “the conviction of things not seen,” Hebrews 11:1, pours out his souls’ deepest groans and longings to the God he knows not only exists, but hears his prayers. Otherwise, we pray only to ourselves, cp. Luke 18:11. The act of praying is an expression of faith!
- Prayer is an Expression of Trust. Any prayer that includes “Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven,” as Jesus said that it should in Matthew 6:10, is an expression of absolute trust in God. Such a caveat in our petitions necessarily implies that, regardless of the nature or extent of our human desires, God’s divine will is preferred in this and all matters, and will be submissively accepted. Paul “entreated the Lord three times” that his “thorn in the flesh” might be removed, but when God replied that such was not best, he “most gladly” accepted this answer and was “well content” with it, cf. 2Corinthians 12:8-10. Praying in this way is an expression of trust!
- Prayer is an Expression of Hope. Prayers can and should be offered that express gratitude, thanksgiving, and praise- and our public and private ones should consist of these much more than they do. In them we should praise God for who He is, and what He has done. But our pleas, entreaties, and petitions must also be based in hope. This is not a carnal “I sure hope so, but kind of doubt it” kind of hope, but is, instead, biblical hope. True, biblical, hope is based on promises from a God for whom “it is impossible to lie,” and therefore is “an anchor of the soul…both sure and steadfast,” that provides “full assurance…until the end,” cf. Hebrews 6:18,19,11. Armed with hope that is based in God, provides stability through the storms of life, and allows calm confidence with regard to the end of all things and beyond, one prays. Prays in thanksgiving; prays in confidence; and prays in anticipation- all in hope. Praying is an expression of hope!
Now come the questions. Is your faith strong or weak? Do you really trust God- with all of life’s challenges, as well as eternity? Is your hope based in spiritual and heavenly or physical and fleshly things? Prayer will not only help you to recognize deficiencies in these areas, it will correct, build, and strengthen you in them. The simple act (and practice) of praying not only expresses your faith, trust, and hope in God, it builds them! God doesn’t want and require us to pray to bolster His ego by abjectly manifesting our dependence upon Him. He wants us to pray because of the benefits we gain from it!
- Prayer_Expressions.pdf (77.47 kB)
