Prayer 101
October 21, 2024
Prayer 101
by Jason Neill
Scripture reading: Matthew 6:5-15; James 4:1-6
When I was in seminary, I had the opportunity to take elective courses. These classes were not required for my degree, but they were personally enriching. Truth be told, there were too many elective classes I wanted to take but didn’t have the time to take them. Instead of being at seminary for four years, I could easily have been there five or six years simply taking courses that weren’t required for my degree.
One of the elective courses I took was titled “Prayer in Scripture and in the Christian life.” I’ve always sensed my prayer life could be stronger, and one of my friends who lived in the men’s dormitory with me signed up for it, so I thought I would too. That course, by far, has helped me in my spiritual walk. This week, I would like to share with you all some of the lessons I learned in that course.
Prayer, in its simplest definition, is talking with God. Nothing complicated about that; however, tradition and cultural influences may have shaped our thinking about this spiritual practice. Closing our eyes during prayer is a practice that is not required by scripture for it to be effective. By “effective,” I mean having God answer your prayers. If you have a long commute to work, like me, and it is a great time to pray, it’s best to keep your eyes open while you pray on your way. It’s better for your fellow drivers too.
Another myth about prayer is that for it to be effective it must be done corporately (i.e., with other believers). While we are encouraged to pray with one another (see Daniel 2:17-18; Acts 4:23-24; 12:12), there is no hint in the Bible that praying with others is somehow more effective. This faulty idea comes from a misunderstanding of Matthew 18:19-20 which is not about prayer but church discipline.
Yet another myth about prayer is that it must be spoken aloud for it to be effective. The fact of the matter is that God hears inaudible prayers just as clearly as audible ones (see Genesis 24:42-45, especially verse 45; 1 Samuel 1:13).
Your posture in prayer also does not make a difference regarding whether it is effective or not. Standing, kneeling, lying prostrate on the ground, or any other physical position isn’t what makes prayer effective. The people in the Bible prayed in a number of positions. Those that stood to pray are people like Hannah (see 1 Samuel 1:26), Jesus (see John 11:41-44) and Solomon (see 1 Kings 8:22-61). Those that kneeled to pray are people like Ezra (see Ezra 9:5-15), Daniel (see Daniel 6:10), Stephen (see Acts 7:60), and Paul (see Acts 20:36). Those that prostrated themselves are people like Moses and Aaron (see Numbers 16:22) and Jesus (see Matthew 26:39).
Lengthy prayers are not more effective than short ones. The prayers of Jesus are short (see John 11:41-42). And the prayers of the apostles are short (see Acts 4:23-30).
The lesson I learned was that prayer is simply talking with God. We don’t need to use King James English. Talk to God as if He is your best friend because He is. Whether you keep your eyes open, close them, bow your head, kneel, stand, or walk isn’t the issue. The issue is your motivation for praying. Is it to be seen by others, like the Pharisees (see Matthew 6:5-15)? Do you want others to consider you to be spiritually mature, so you make your prayers lengthy and use extravagant language? If so, you missed the point of prayer.
We miss out when we don’t pray. The passage from James (see James 4:1-6) indicates that we often don’t experience answers to prayer because we fail to bring our request before God. So, take advantage of the great privilege we have to approach our Heavenly Father in prayer at any time and with any posture. True effectiveness lies in approaching Him in humility, recognizing our inadequacies, acknowledging who He is, and expressing our concerns with the intent of connecting with Him (see Luke 18:9-14).
For more on this topic, I recommend the book Talking with God: What the Bible Teaches About Prayer by Tom Constable.