A Word About Prayer

A Word About Prayer

“And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. “This, then, is how you should pray:
   “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name . . .” Matthew 6:7-9 NIV

Have you ever been in a church service or in the presence of someone who is praying and hear them use a bunch of words to address God, before they even get to anything substantive? Maybe they start calling out the various names of God in their prayers: “Lord God Jehovah, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Maker of Heaven and Earth, Ruler of Nations, Lord of All . . .” On and on and on. All of this before they even get to the very thing they are praying about. I wonder if they know that it’s not necessary?

Jesus tells his disciples not to pray like this. In that day, the “pagans” as the bible calls them, used to heap all kinds of titles and praise words on their god in order to win their affection so that they could get what they wanted. They would introduce their prayers with things to “butter up” their God, hoping to get their god’s attention. But those who walked with Jesus were instructed not to pray this way. Jesus told his disciples to pray from a position of intimacy with their God. Not from a position of begging for “stuff”.

He tells his disciples to address God as “Father”. That describes a relationship. You don’t go to someone you are in relationship with heaping on a bunch of names before you ask for something from them. If you do, they usually know something is up. You want something from them that they will probably say no to. So you feel the need to butter them up first before you ask. Jesus says that God already knows what you are going to ask for, so there is no need for all of the babbling beforehand.

When I call my Dad, I don’t hit him with all of his titles before I get to the gist of what I’m calling for. If I called and said, “Father of Shayna, Erica and Rick; Husband of Donna; Son of Jannette and Herbert; Teacher of students; Resident of Mt. Airy; Owner of a White Car; Former Changer of My Diaper . . .” he would think I’d lost my mind. That’s not how you address someone with whom you have a relationship with. I just leave it at “Hey Dad”. And then proceed with the conversation.

For those who are in relationship with God as our Heavenly Father, there is no need to go on and on and on before you come before Him in prayer. Jesus has already made it possible for you to simply say, “Hey Dad”. There is nothing wrong with praising God for who He is, but it is not necessary for talking to Him on the regular. Don’t think that you are out of order for simply talking to your father. Those who feel disconnected may think they need to start off their prayer with the babbling, but know that it is not necessary. As a matter of fact, I think God would like it very much if you just say, “Hey Dad”. Especially if you have not spoken to God in a while. That doesn’t change the fact that you are still His child. You don’t have to work your way back up to get in good with God again. He already knows what you want to talk about. He just wants you to know that you can talk to Him. No mater how far away you feel you are. Don’t pray like someone who has no relationship with God. You already do. Just say, “Hey Dad”. I am sure He will answer.