The Bold Approach
Church, we are accepted at the throne of grace.
Approaching it boldly is not approaching it with arrogance, but with humble confidence, knowing we are accepted only because of the work of Christ.
Knowing this, we temper the time we spend in communion with God.
And that’s what prayer is: communion. It is not like going to see Santa, who, if your list is in order, will sit there, listen to all your requests, and lie that they have been granted.
God does indeed answer prayer, but He does it in accordance with His will, in consideration of all timing and purpose from His all-wise perspective.
Our assignment is to come to Him, period. We come before the throne of grace with all our requests, groanings, failings, questions, and—most importantly—gratitude. We do this so that we can be forgiven.
Effective Prayer
Oh God! How desperately the Church needs to learn how to pray!
If judgment is to begin at the House of God, let the House of God begin every time of precious communion with a paean of thanks, either together or individually. We have so much to be thankful for, and if you’re struggling to find something in your case, begin with the simple and obvious. You’ll find that if you can give God thanks for the very breath you draw, so that you can praise Him for having given you that breath, you may find another thing you can thank Him for, such as a new day in which to live and move and find purpose and meaning.
Then you may begin to give thanks to God for your family, your job, the roof over your head, the provision in your bank and in your fridge, and the clothes on your back. And we should bring all these things before Him, every day, in thanks for what we have (cultivating gratitude brings contentment, and that is a rare thing today).
Then you may begin to find other things, specific things, to bring before Him and say thanks for. But this is only the beginning.
Because of the enigma that is the human condition, we often see others clearly while remaining blind to ourselves. One bad way this manifests is when we get irritated by someone’s behavior, wondering how they could be so ignorant as to the negative effect they have on everyone around them. One good way it manifests is when we see this exact same thing but choose to respond by taking it to God in prayer.
This is why Church cannot happen outside of actual, flesh-and-blood community. We need each other. I need your eyes to be able to see and know me well enough to keep me honest about my shortcomings, and you need my honesty when you come to me about the results you’re getting. I have what you need and you have what I need. This is why Paul said we are the Body of Christ.
Effective prayer happens in community when, all of us seeing clearly as one, pray for each other. We do this so that we can be healed.
Bread Equals Work
Jesus once told His disciples that He had bread they didn’t know about. When they questioned Him, He made it clear: His food is the do the will of the Father.
This is one of the clearest pictures of what, in the Marines, we used to call commander’s intent. If Jesus was sustained at His core by doing what the Father was doing (John 5.19), then, since one of the instructions He gave us about how to pray was to ask the Father to give us our daily bread, we who are being made more and more like Him ought to find like sustenance in the work the Father has for us (John 6.29). Our bread for the day ahead is to do the work He has predestined us to do, prepared in advance to His glory.
Our bread is the work He has given us. Our work is the bread we need. And all this comes to you through a blog written by a guy who sometimes struggles with a penchant for medicating with food. Doesn’t this set you free in some way? It does me.
If communion with God is better than food, that changes everything for me. What it means is that it really is true that His steadfast love is better than life. And that means, whether I live or die, in Christ, there is no way I can lose.
Pray Without Ceasing
Unlimited prayer isn’t a burden. It’s a continual conversation with God. It’s treating everyday life events as an invitational to God to be involved, especially in the drudgery.
Making your work worship will set you free, sure, but having a conversation with God, praying for the people you see, lifting up coworkers instead of griping about them, taking your children to God in prayer for the many obstacles they face as they grow and learn, being honest with God about your failings as the day goes along—all these and more are excellent material for the ongoing communion with the Great I AM that is prayer.
Church, we need to pray more, and we need to pray more like this. If God has prereqs for us, this is one of them. We will never see the transformation we long to see in the earth until we engage our Father like this, trust Him, ask for His forgiveness and His blessings, and invite Him into our everyday lives. He longs for our intimate fellowship with Him because it will change everything.
Satisfy the divine desire. Take everything to God in prayer.
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