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When you pray

Wayne M. Warner

For many, prayer is just an occasional message sent up at night and on weekends when rates are lowest. But prayer means more than telephoning long distance to ask favours of God. Prayer develops, expands, deepens, and heightens the intensity of our whole being. In Matthew 6:5-13, Jesus taught His followers how to pray:

Don’t play-act.

“Do not be like the hypocrites” (Matthew 6:5).

Hypocrites were Greek actors who changed their faces to project varying moods and occasions. Elsewhere, Jesus warned, “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean” (Matthew 23:27). John concluded that such people have a reputation for being alive, but are truly “dead” (Revelation 3:1).

“Spend fifteen minutes daily praying for foreign missions,” challenged the minister, “but beware how you pray, for it is a costly experience.” Costly? Yes. When Wiiliam Carey prayed for the conversion of the world, it cost him himself, and it cost those who prayed for him. When David Brainerd prayed for a particular group of Natives, it cost him two years of hard work, and his life. You will find you cannot pray and withhold your personal involvement. When your prayers begin to be answered, your life no longer remains your own.

Don’t advertise.

“Go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father” (Matthew 6:6).

Make prayer a personal relationship between you and the sustaining Creator of life. Personalize your prayer life by shutting the door behind you and letting God x-ray your life. Peel off the layers of self until you get down to the real meat. Confess the weaknesses you fear to expose to prying eyes. Pray away the cowardice that shrinks from new truth and the laziness that satisfies itself with half-truths. Pray away the pride that thinks it has “the” truth.

Don’t rationalize.

“Do not keep on babbling like the pagans” (Matthew 6:7).

Elevate your prayer life beyond earthly reasoning. Prayer is not just talking to ourselves. It releases the power of God. The Pharisee looked for personal gain and found it, as men envied his eloquence (Luke 18:9-14). The Publican looked for spiritual healing and found it, by contritely asking God for mercy. You can release God’s power by exercising your faith. Give God the person you are, just as you are. Allow God to share His presence with you, just as He is.

Wayne M. Warner lives in Battle Creek, Mich.

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Last modified November 29, 2000.

© 2000 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
Published by the Canadian Conference of MB Churches.
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