While Jesus was on the earth, His disciples asked Him many foolish and misdirected questions. Many of their questions reflected shallow faith, self- consumed hearts, and ignorance of the big picture. But I think most of us are grateful that one day Jesus’ disciples came to Him and said, “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1). After all, who hasn’t felt daunted by the task of prayer? At one time or another, everyone has wondered how to pray.
Do we pray out loud? Do we bow our knees? Can we open our eyes? Do we address the Father, the Son, or the Holy Spirit? Or all three? Do we need to start with thanksgiving before we get to our requests? What requests are okay and what requests are selfish? What does it mean to pray in Jesus’ name, and what does it mean to pray according to God’s will? Should we pray all the time or should we pray at set times? Should we pray with others or lock ourselves in a prayer closet? These are only some of the many questions that can paralyze us as we approach the subject of prayer.
And then many of us feel guilty that we don’t pray more. Prayer feels like a burden instead of an invitation. And then we feel bad when we approach God in our desperate times. We feel like fair-weather fans showing up at the championship game after ignoring our team for the entire year.
But what if we thought about prayer in a different way? What if it was not a burdensome obligation, but rather a stunning invitation? The Creator and Redeemer of mankind has opened the gates of heaven so that His people can speak to Him, to confess to Him, to cry out for help, and to pour out our hearts. Why in the world would we need to be convinced to take advantage of this amazing invitation? We would not consider an invitation to the White House an obligation. We would not consider tickets to the Super Bowl as an obligation. When we view prayer as a burden, we respond foolishly to an unthinkably gracious offer from God.
Beginning on October 20, we will begin a message series at LBF called In Jesus’ Name. This series is the result of an elder-led desire to grow into a church that is marked by prayer. In the six-week series we will deal with a number of questions. Some will be as simple as, “What is prayer?” Some will be as complex as, “Will God give me what I ask for?”
Maybe you are at a point in your life where you desperately want to grow in the area of prayer. Maybe you are at a point in your life where you feel paralyzed at the thought of prayer. Maybe you are not sure if you believe in prayer at all. Wherever you find yourself, this series will answer questions, open hearts, and present an invitation to a deeper and richer relationship with God.
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