“And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.”-Luke 11:1
Leonard Ravenhill said: ““Prayer is the language of the poor. The self-sufficient don’t need to pray. The self-satisfied don’t want to pray. The self-righteous can’t pray. The only people who can pray are those who can recognize we need power outside of ourselves.”
Of all the things people want in life: love, power, attention, freedom, belonging, expression, connection, victory, and much more. Prayer is not on the list. Yet of all that was available to the disciples through the ministry of Jesus; what they asked for was to learn to pray. They saw firsthand the efficacy of prayer. Efficacy is the ability to produce an intended result. God designed prayer with tremendous efficacy, but it is God’s design. As humans we have the tremendous ability to make everything about us, and prayer is no exception. The tendency is to pervert this holy art into a ceremony and obligation. To place the primary usage and expectation of prayer on temporal results. Praying as though every prayer we pray to God, God “owes” us an answer. However, we must look at prayer through the lens in which it is given. Considering all Holy scripture and not just part. God Almighty ordained prayer as the avenue to which man approaches God. God is in heaven and us on earth. He is eternal, omnipotent, and all powerful. If we approach him, we approach Him as such. You don’t walk into the White House and demand an audience with the President. You need an invitation and introduction. Therefore, we need to know and be in fellowship with the Son of God (Jesus Christ) to approach the Father. This fellowship is solidified and sanctified by and through the Holy Spirit. God’s own Son approached Him in this manner, how much more should we? Even though God knows all, he still desires that we ask of Him. My daughter asks me for things all the time, and if it were up to her, she would have ice cream for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. If it were up to her, she would have nothing but toys, and wear nothing but costumes. At this point in her life (she is six), she is hearing the word “no” a lot. However, I don’t mind her asking if she is respectful because she is learning through the process of asking. After a few dozen “no’s” she doesn’t ask me for sweets before dinner anymore, nor for toys every time we step in Target. She now knows the answer because she knows her father. Through this process of asking and answering our relationship deepens and she is learning more and more about the character of her father (and mother). I want her to ask, to learn to trust, because the answer will not always be “no”. Praying, right praying, will reveal the will and character of God. Furthermore, it will draw us closer to God and reveal the true efficacy of prayer. It will reveal to us that prayer not only produces His intended result, in us, but also in life. We attune to the will of the Father and through praying it accomplished the means of the Father. This is by holy design.
A praying person is a spiritual person. A praying church is a powerful church. Much of our time is spent doing anything but praying, and much of our worship is wasted on emotional stimulus. Oh, but if we (I most surely included) could learn the art and embrace the true efficacy of prayer! We would shake hell and bulldoze the strongholds of Satan. Lord, please, teach us to pray.
