Most of us were taught to pray when we were just little kids. We were taught that God is up in heaven watching and listening, and we should pray to him every day.
As we got older, we found out that praying was actually talking to God. We were to take our praises, our needs and our concerns and tell God about them. After we did that, we should then read our bibles, because that was the way God talked back to us. I do believe he speaks through the writings of the bible by the Spirit, but I don’t think this is the only way he speaks. Certainly it is always by the Spirit no matter what he uses to communicate.
We were told to pray without ceasing, to pray with the correct style and order, and to always end our prayer with ‘in Jesus name’. If we didn’t, our prayers may not get through to God.
Why is it, at least for me, I always have a weird feeling if I don’t end my prayer with ‘in Jesus name’? Do we really need to add this phrase to the end of our talk with our Father? I know it’s not really necessary, but a lot of us always add that at the end of our prayers like it makes everything we just said official. I feel that praying in Jesus name really means that we pray in the power and authority that Jesus gave us under the New Covenant. It really isn’t a phrase that needs to be said, but an attitude and privilege we have through him.
We also have this concept that God is way up in heaven, and our prayers may not get through right away. Have you even been told that demons can interrupt our prayers and hold them up as they pass up to heaven? I always used that when I didn’t get an answer when I thought I should.
The thought of praying without ceasing always gave me a problem too. After all, how could I pray when driving a car if I had to have my eyes closed? Obviously, we don’t have to close our eyes, but that is one of those things we were taught when young, bow your head, close your eyes and fold your hands. Praying isn’t about any of those things.
I think praying without ceasing is an attitude. Since God lives within us, everything we do, everywhere we go, he is with us. He is involved in our thoughts, and our interactions with others. He loves us and is interested in every part of our lives. So, in that way of thinking, since prayer is talking with God and he lives within us, we can pray without ceasing. We can talk with him any time, any place, in any position and in any style. There really isn’t a right and wrong way to talk with our Father, who loves us and wants to communicate with us.
Sometimes I think we make prayer to religious. It has to be done a certain way, in a certain order and in the right attitude. We need to have ourselves prepared and ‘cleaned up’ to come into God’s presence.
What happened to the fact that we are the temple of the Holy Spirit, that we are one with God, that the Father and Son have come and made their home in us? The way I see it, there is nothing that can hinder us talking with God (not even taking prayer out of schools). He is right here within us, there is no need to worry about our prayers getting interrupted.
I have been thinking, if prayer is talking to God, it really doesn’t have to be in a certain order or style. It doesn’t have to be when we are feeling holy, it is a daily talk with our Father, no matter what our mood. Our earthly fathers didn’t required we come to them at a set time, or in a set place, or speak to them in a specific way, so why would we expect our heavenly Father to require all these things?
We can be ourselves, we can just talk, question, complain, praise, request, and know that God is listening and concerned. We aren’t going to upset him with our bad attitude, poor choice of words or even our questions. After all, he loves us and accepts us just as we are.
So, I’m finding that prayer is not a religious act, but a daily attitude, talking and communicating with God our Father who lives within us. And since the Spirit lives within us, we will hear and know his voice which comes from within. It is the Spirit that speaks and teaches us, no matter what method he uses to do so.
I think it all boils down to this, God wants to communicate with us. I’m not sure there is really a right or wrong way to talk with Him. If we are formal, informal, if we feel good or bad, holy or not, if we say ‘in Jesus name’ or not, God loves us and wants us to talk with Him all the time.
Thanks for sharing this with us Mike. To me prayer is a simple conversation between me and God. I speak and listen and so does HE. “HIs sheep hear His voice and obey.”
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So true Chris. Prayer is so easy and natural, yet the way we were taught, it seems so hard and confusing at times. We need to stop listening to the religious ways and just naturally talk with our Father.
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Yes, Mike and Susanne. To pray and add, “In Jesus’ name” is not some magic incantation as religious people seen to think.. that if we tack that on to the end of any request we want from God, carnal or otherwise, He has to grant it. Hogwash and superstition!
You can not pray IN Jesus’ name unless you are walking IN His name! Both in the Greek and Hebrew words translated “name” means more than just a label we go by. It means the very essence of who that person is, His character and personage,.. even His reputation. We can only pray IN Christ’s name as we are walking IN CHRIST and living in obedience to Him as we act and speak. How different this is to what we have experienced in our willy nilly examples of prayer in the churches!!!
Love you both!
Michael
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Hi Michael, growing up in the church, we come to do things the way we were taught and never question it. I’m finding that some of those things don’t make sense sometimes, and questioning them is a good thing. It is good to know that others feel the same way. Thanks for the comment.
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Hi DonewithReligion
I have been reading a few of your posts over the past week. I hope you do not mind me commenting as I am not a Christian, I do not believe in any religion but I feel compelled to comment to this post.
14 years ago I did something stupid for an atheist to do, I started praying to God. For a few years previous to this I had been thinking about whether there was a God or not. My life was in such a mess and I had nowhere else to go. I just wanted to be happy again. God seemed to answer my prayers. I took God 4 years to prove that it was him answering my prayers. It wasn’t a miracle. It was guiding me to the changes that I needed to make in my life. It was hard work with many ups and downs but every down was for a reason. Every down came to mean that I was getting somewhere.
It was six years after I started praying that God put a bible in my hands when I asked to learn more about him. That ended up in a massive down.
Christians tell me that God is not allowed to do this because ‘Only Christians can find God’, ‘You have to be taught about God by a Christian teacher from one of six (?) groups Of Christian teachers which I found out later came from Ephesians.
Jesus taught the teaching of ‘Ask Seek Knock’. That is what I did with my prayers. I sought God, asked him for help and God opened the door for me. When Jesus said to teach men of all nations what I have taught you his teachings became applicable to men of all nations whether they knew them or not. So when Christians say “Only Christians can find God” using Jesus’ teaching ‘I am the way…’ I get confused because it doesn’t say that only Christians can find God unless you add 1900 years of Christian add-ons to it and Jesus was not a Christian either.
To put it another way. In Luke is recorded the Parable of the Prodigal Son. In this parable the father ran out with joy to welcome the son who ‘was a long way off’. I am still a long way off and loving the welcome. It is still a long way home and I have a lot to learn along the way. To me though many Christians seem to be like the son who has been with the father all the time. They don’t understand the father’s joy and celebration. They are annoyed at the fathers feast and don’t want to join. They think it should all be about them and how dutiful they have been.
To get back on track, the way I pray has changed over time. It has never been what you call formal. I start my prayers with ‘Hi God’ and close with ‘I thank you God. Thank you’. I realise many may look down on this. It came about by accident but I felt more comfortable praying this way. It was more personal to me and that is why I always say ‘I thank you’. It is to confirm to myself that I am responsible for what I ask in my prayers. The exception is ‘The Lord’s Prayer’. I say that using the version from the Didiche that most people use starting with ‘Our Father’ and finishing with ‘Amen’. When I say this prayer contemplate on what I am saying. It is a very strong prayer and not a recitation piece.
Thank you.
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Thank you Mark for reading some of my articles. I sure do appreciate it.
First, I think you made some good points, and I’m so glad to hear you are talking to God in your own way. I think that is the way it should be, not some formal, thought-out prayer to sound holy, but just being yourself, talking with God.
I truly believe Jesus did not come to start a religion. So people saying only christians can talk to God is complete garbage. Like you, I do not profess to be part of any ‘religion’. I do follow Jesus and want his love to flow through me to everyone. Jesus came to show us the love of God, the love He has for everyone. God does not just love americans, christians and republicans. God loves everyone, every color, every nationality, every sex.
Also, you mentioned you wondered if there was a God or not. I don’t think there is anything wrong with questions. I think God welcomes our questions and doubts. The fact that you have questions is a good thing. It’s a problem when we do not question, we just accept what others tell us, or accept some belief we have and don’t question it.
Also, being taught by ‘christians’ or by men is not the whole picture. We obviously can learn from one another, not just christian, but I feel God speaks in many ways. He can use the bible, other people, and the quiet voice from within us, which I believe is the Holy Spirit. Don’t let people tell you that only christians can teach you and guide you. That is the job of the Spirit.
The story of the prodigal son is a great story. It shows the love the ‘Father’ has for all of us, his children. He looks past our mistakes and loves us for who we are, ready and willing to forgive us and have a relationship with us. And yes, I agree with you, a lot of christian people do seem to be more like the son who stayed home and thought he was more deserving.
I love the way you say you pray: “hi God” and “I thank you”. Again, we don’t have to be formal and use certain terms. We just talk to our Father like we would talk to any friend. My advice would be to not worry about what others are saying and continue talking with God and seeking truth through the spirit.
Again, thank you for taking the time to read my articles. I hope they will be an encouragement to you. Thanks also for your comment.
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You ask many sincere and useful questions my brother. And certainly there is nothing wrong or inappropriate about asking the Lord to teach us to pray with a child-like spirit.
Yet here is where religion and religious men stick their BIG fat nose in where it doesn’t belong.
You see religion loves templates and lists – the 10 Commandments, the Lord’s prayer, the Holy Days, the 7 Steps to a Successful Prayer life, etc etc. And religious men love these because in and through them they can control and manipulate others – it gives them power and authority. It fosters dependence on the part of the sheep, and these so-called shepherds freed off of them.
But Jesus did not and would never (those who truly know Him know this to be true) prescribe a certain way to pray as the scribes and pharisees did. English translations record this as Him teaching them “how” to pray, not what to pray for.
The so-called Lord’s prayer that we teach our kids as the model prayer tells us more about what we should be focusing on when we share with Him – The Father’s Kingdom, His interests, His plans, etc.
Structure, code words, syntax, templates, position – these are things religious men put higher than God. They will never admit that of course but it is true nonetheless. They cannot profit and wax powerful without putting many levels of things between you and God, because they define and control what these things are; they alone are the gatekeepers.
But, and this is a colossal but – God looks only at the heart. “Come to me as little children….” Not with code words, and scripts and templates and empty platitudes.
Consider how Job and David and Jeremiah “prayed”.
Those who are not religious can never be sacri-religious – think about it.
Good words my friend – keep writing from your heart.
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So true. Thanks for the good words.
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Great insights, Mike. I fully agree with your deliberations on prayer as it should really be.
Indeed, it is so difficult to get rid of those old habits of which we thought we ought to always add them to a prayer. You rightly said that ‘in Jesus name’ has to do with His power and not with mere words. I was reminded of the scene where Peter one day said to that lame man whom he had certainly passed by rather often before,
“I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” (Acts 3:6 ESV)
We know that the lame man was healed immediately and thus we see that Peter’s ‘in Jesus name’ meant he had received the power of God to do something. If we have no spiritual power, no such wording makes ever sense, does it… However, we all learned so much ridiculous and superfluous stuff that kept us away from getting to know God how He really is – loving, kind, and understanding. Not a distant God at all as many empty religious rituals might suggest.
I remember that Teresa of Ávila once said prayer was like a talk with your best friend. That means as open and as honest as possible, always knowing that we are loved unconditionally regardless of our “behavior”. 😉
I wrote several articles on prayer, also on prayer without ceasing which is a gift from God, I believe, and I thought I could offer a link to one of my entries which deals with the question of how and how not to pray in context with Matthew 6:6-8. If you’re interested, you might check out https://enteringthepromisedland.wordpress.com/2014/07/24/is-prayer-about-chewing-our-cud/.
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Thank you Susanne for your comment. I appreciate it. I read your article and enjoyed it. Thanks for posting the link.
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