Prayer isn’t magical. That may seem like a strange assertion, given the very nature of prayer. On the surface, it does seem a bit magical. We are, after all, asking God – a somewhat mystical being in the eyes of many – to change our reality. And that is a grave misunderstanding since the prayers of Christ-followers are relational and not magical.
In the Sermon on the Mount, what we are calling The Jesus Way, Jesus taught about prayer. In our previous article, Jesus taught about praying without hypocrisy. Jesus continued, “When you pray, don’t babble like the Gentiles, since they imagine they’ll be heard for their many words. Don’t be like them, because your Father knows the things you need before you ask him. “Therefore, you should pray like this: Our Father in heaven, your name be honored as holy. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” (Matthew 6:7–13, CSB)
Magic has a formula and repetition to achieve the desired outcome. Prayer is not like that. God doesn’t weigh or consider the length of our prayers, the loudness in their expression, or whether we use the proper words. There is no formula because God knows what we need before we even ask. No, prayer is instead about relationship. It is conversation and not an incantation.
To emphasize His point, Jesus gave us “the prayer.” What many call “The Lord’s Prayer.” It is powerful in its scope and brevity (around 55 words). The prayer contains recognition of relationship, praise, intercession, petition, forgiveness, and guidance. Why so short? I think it is because God listens to our hearts more than our words. He knows when we pray in faith or are just repeating words with doubt or without meaning them.
But there is no magic here. It doesn’t matter if we repeat this prayer by rote, jumble the order, or leave out one or most of the six topics. What matters is that we come to God in prayer. He invites us, longs for us, to talk with Him in prayer. Jesus invited us, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take up my yoke and learn from me, because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28–30, CSB) Prayer is not a burden, it is a time of rest.
Let me provide some practical prayer advice. Pray from the heart and not the head. Bring your problems to God and let Him provide the solutions. We don’t need to tell God HOW to answer our prayers, but we must have faith that He will answer. Praise, worship, and thanksgiving are powerful prayers that are often neglected. Nothing is too large or too small to pray about. Stop talking and listen for God’s voice. And again, prayer is conversation and not an incantation. Above all – Do It!
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