I have an index card taped to the wall in my prayer closet with three short prayers written on it. These prayers came to me in a time of prayer, and I felt them so sincerely in the moment that I wrote them down and put them where I would return to them over and over again, yet, I can tell you truly, I did not know what I was asking for when I put them there. It’s kind of like the old adage about praying for patience. When you ask God to give you patience what He gives you is an opportunity to be patient. It’s not usually what we are really asking for when we ask for patience, but it is the road to the PatienceMart! Whether we buy patience when we get there is somewhat a matter of personal choice! 🙂
These are my three simple prayers:
- Show me what it means to be faithful in prayer.
- Teach me to regard You as holy.
- Teach me to take possession of all that you are giving me.
I’m going to try to share with you some of the answers I’ve gotten to these prayers so far. And I’m sure that it is still a walk in progress. I’ve not circumnavigated my “Grand Canyon” yet, if you’re familiar with that image from my post “Priestly Prayers.”
1. “Show me what it means to be faithful in prayer.”
Faith is a word we use in a myriad of ways. We sometimes, or at least I have sometimes thought of it, a little bit like the Force from Star Wars. The idea is that it is the power of believing that makes miracles possible. If I wish hard enough then God has to make it happen. Experience has taught me that this is not true. Fervent desire for something is not faith.
I have found that Faith has two sides, like a coin. The face of the coin is better described as faithfulness. In that we picture someone, who stays constant over time. Someone who stays married, or who continues to parent, who goes to their job day in and day out even when its bland and thankless is faithful.
Faithful prayer is not so much about long lists dutifully (even vigorously) recited, as it is about returning to His feet daily in a posture of waiting and humility. It’s about showing up consistently, and being content with whatever He chooses. Whether days of fire or rain. Thunder or silence. Or even something in between.
The tail of the coin is about confronting ourselves. About being honest with our doubts and disappointments. In Psalms, David says, “Search me, O Lord, and try my anxious thoughts.” Faith must come from a place of Truth. There must be congruence between what I say with my lips, and what I fear and worry about in my inner most being. Sometimes, you have to pound your fists on the floor and said, “Stop it God! I don’t like it! It’s not fair!” Or, “I don’t want this, Lord, I’m afraid!” Sometimes we even come to the place, where we slump back in our chair and say, “God, I’m so disgusted with You right now, I have no more words.” Until then, you haven’t begun the conversation that leads to faith. Faithful prayer is when you come to the place where in the midst of hard circumstances you heart says,
“All that You say is poetry.”
“All that You do is art.”
“All that You ask is right and good.”
“This too is beautiful, a work of Divine Glory.”
“This is the Day the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it.”
I call this broadcasting well. Our conviction rests in a deep place of knowing God, knowing He is for me, and Good, and that He would not cause me pain if I did not need it to grow, and if He were not preparing me for a much greater good. When we can feel pain, and rejoice because God is doing something good in our midst, and it is not co-mingled with any fear, doubt, anxiety, worry or anger. When we are a coin of one pure metal all the way through. Then we are faith- full. And our prayers echo our hearts, and our lives become a beacon of hope to others.
As I said, I’m still walking. It is a very big canyon! 🙂
