Prayer

We explored the concept of prayer as part of The Worship Life this past Sunday. I heard from many of you about how meaningful that message was. If you were not able to be in worship, or would like to hear it again, you can check it out online by clicking here.

I used Philippians 4:4-14 from The Message as the main text for this week’s sermon. There were two big ideas that came out of that text: (1) using prayer as a way to stabilize the soul as opposed to worry; and (2) the connecting power of prayer from relating to God and relating to others. Both of these big ideas are perfect focal points for thinking about The Worship Life, in that we are to keep our eyes fixed upon God all day every day, and allow our prayer life to connect us to the will of God and in loving service to others. This is the essence of 1 Thessalonians 5:17 as Paul writes to pray without ceasing.

Praying without ceasing is a dynamic concept as it pertains to The Worship Life. It means that we live in a continuous flowing dialogue with the Lord as we go about our everyday life. Obviously, we cannot always approach prayer with head bowed, hands clasped, and eyes closed, but praying continuously means we are tuned in to the will of God as we interact with others. From sharing in prayerful dialogue as we drive up and down the road to a simple breath prayer we might lift before talking to someone, shaping a life of prayer in all aspects of life works to unlock the powerful presence of Christ in every interaction. This turns prayer from something that a leader does in worship on Sunday mornings to the deep wellspring of every person’s complete spiritual life!

Unlocking this prayer power also requires us to consider the things in life that inhibit it; on Sunday, I referred to this idea as a barrier to prayer. There are many prayer barriers that we experience in our everyday living, but for the purpose of this article, I want to focus on three.

The first comes directly from our Philippians 4 text, and that is worry. Worry means we have a divided mind. We end up focusing on our situations as opposed to our Savior. As Paul wrote, instead of worrying, we should pray, because it is incredible what happens when Jesus displaces worry at the center of our lives.

The second barrier is busyness. Let’s face it, we are all busy, and the thought of taking even a moment out of our otherwise hectic day might seem impossible. This is a myth and it is terribly destructive. Satan wants us to be busy, focusing on things as opposed to focusing the main thing: God! If you are feeling busy and overwhelmed, prayer is the perfect salve for that. It requires us to pause, but also to unify our divided mind and place the emphasis where it belongs.

The third barrier I want to consider is competition. As humans, our animal-like instincts rely on competition for survival in this crazy world. Where competition can be healthy in some areas, when it comes to our spiritual life, it can be destructive. If you experience a barrier to prayer that emerges when you fear you cannot pray as eloquently as someone else, then you might be tempted to just rely on others to pray for you. God doesn’t care about eloquent words; God wants to connect your heart to His in a constant loving conversation. I think back to when Ethan was tiny and how much I loved to simply hear him say, “Daddy.” There can be few things that bring God as much joy as when we turn to God as the heavenly parent and acknowledge His presence and powerful loving presence in our life. We do not need a master’s grasp on the English language; just use the simple words that share the things in your heart and mind with God.

There are undoubtedly countless barriers to prayer…perhaps as many barriers as there are people. Do not let them keep you from connecting to God. Do not let them keep you from allowing God to connect you spiritually with others. This will unlock and empower your life in unthinkable ways as you seek to live The Worship Life.