Thoughts on prayer
Until today I have steadfastly refused to go down the route of blogging, because I consider it a time wasting activity - so what am I doing here?
Well, I host www.faithandworship.com
It’s home to a lot of Celtic inspired prayers, a new set of Bible Studies on a Celtic theme, and a few other articles and suchlike - Oh, and did I mention that there’s a Daily Prayer option for those that like such things, and a book ‘heart2heart’ which is for sale online. Well, I have now!
So it seemed a natural progression to go down the blogging route, of which this is Day One.
Just finished working my way through 1 John in my daily Bible study, and there’s some really relevant words about prayer in that short book. Take for example 1 John 5:14,15
14This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.’
Couple of very important principles in this couple of verses. Firstly that GOD HEARS OUR PRAYERS! That’s rather crucial if we’re to believe that prayer is important, and that it works outside of the pages of the Bible!
Secondly that anything we ask for in prayer must be in accordance with the will of God. That’s a trickier one to understand, until we look at Jesus’ words right at the end of his life on earth at Gethsemene (Matthew 26, 39-42)
39Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”
….My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”
‘Your will be done’
‘Not as I will, but as you will’
That’s the secret of course - if we’re close enough to God in our walk of faith, if we’re in fellowship with him and listening to him as our Heavenly Father then we’re not going to ask for anything that we know would be against the way we know that God works in us and in the world.
As William Barclay says, we pray ‘Your will be done’ NOT ‘ Your will be changed’
Barclay also challenges us with this thought. We’re so apt to think that prayer is asking God for what we want, whereas true prayer is asking God for what he wants. It’s listening to God as well as talking to him.
That’s enough food for thought for one day!