What - you're telling me there is a right & a wrong way to pray?
Well, yes as a matter of fact I am - other than the obvious - that you probably shouldn't pray that you will never suffer physical or emotional pain again, or that you would have a billion dollars just appear in your bank account - there can be a wrong way to pray!
My thoughts on this center around the book I'm finishing up "Sun Stand Still" (What Happens When You Dare to Ask God For The Impossible) by Pastor Steven Furtick. You should run - not walk to go get a copy of this book (on sale wherever books are sold...or at least most places books are sold!)
There are so many great thoughts in Pastor Steven's book - and I'm only going to talk about the "praying wrong" part here - because I don't want to ruin your experience in reading this for yourself....seriously, Go Get The Book!!!
So, what about praying wrong? Steven says that he realized he was praying some pretty dumb prayers:
- 'God, just be with me today.' - what we mean is we want to experience God's presence in our lives...but it's just a filler, you see God fills heaven and earth....every inch of all creation - do we really need to make sure He's "going to be with us?"
- 'God, if it's your will.' - does God need an opt-out clause in the contract before He's willing to sign on? We do this because we're scared - it makes the prayer seem 'safer'. So it's a cop-out! (read more in the book)
What about praying a 'Sun Stand Still' prayer? It takes us to a new territory. it's wrapped with urgency, filled with possibility & for most of us it's a whole new way to pray!
Steven says "The tragedy of our time is that we have taken what was meant to be ordinary (a Sun Stand Still prayer) and made it exceptional. We've put audacity on the highest shelf, out of reach, and declared it off limits." Check out James 5:17 for example. And reread that first part, about Elijah being a man just like us!
Get the picture?
"Prayer is the arena where our faith meets God's abilities. And there is never going to be a moment when the audacity of our faith surpasses God's capacity to respond."
How are you praying today? Go check out the book & then check out The Book - and let me know.
His,
~C
1 comment:
The part about 'if it is God's will' is something I'm not sure if I agree with.
I suppose it would make more sense if I read the book, as you say, but I don't feel like when I am praying that it is out of fear...more like submission to what God has in store, not for what I ask (unless it is in line with His will).
You know what I mean?
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