[This reflection was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 16/Aug/2020]
Seven days without prayer makes one weak [anon]
Do you have a standing order with God? He sends you your daily bread and a generous selection of other blessings on a regular basis and then once a week, or whenever, you offer a generic prayer of thanks, add a dash of praise and finish off with your wish-list for next week. Every now and then you make a special effort but otherwise your relationship is well-established and you see little need to change it.
Does that sound cynical? – Think about it for a while and you might find it to be more accurate than you want to admit. On the other hand, you might be a Daniel or a David whose prayer and praise practices should be an example to us all. If so, we need your help!
We cannot claim that we do not know how to pray. Matthew[1] records a template given by the Master Himself. It reminds us of our relationship with God, our respect for Him, our reliance on Him, our reaction to those around us and our recognition of His regal status. Curiously, one thing the Lord’s Prayer omits is how to thank Him, surely our second-most frequent use of prayer.
Of course, there are pressures on our time. We have so much else to occupy us so we could sub-contract our prayers – there are plenty of pastors, priests and vicars who are paid to pray on our behalf. But that loses the direct dialogue with God that Lesley described last week[2] and, anyway, would you use a ‘thank-you writing agency’ when you receive a gift from someone with whom you have a loving relationship?
Perhaps, more realistically, it’s a matter of priorities. Do we want to pray? Why are we so easily distracted when we try? How do we stay focused? Jesus Himself taught us these words, ponder upon them.
“Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be your name, your kingdom come,
your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory for ever. Amen.”
[1] Matthew chapter 6, verses 9-13
[2] Prayer is a Dialogue HBC ‘Yours’, 09/Aug/2020.
~~~~~~~~
.
Return to weekly Reflections
Jump to Index of Bible Passages
Contributed by Steve Humphreys; © the Author
