Prayer Questions

If there are any questions that arise in one’s Christian walk of faith, proportionately I think most of the questions have to do with the topic of prayer.  Prayer … what it is?  How does it work?  Does it really make a difference?  All kinds of questions arise like a submarine making its ascent to the surface when it comes to prayer.  Here are a few more questions that I suspect people ponder about prayer:

o       Why doesn’t God seem to be listening when I prayer?

o       If God knows everything anyway, why inform God of things He already knows about in prayer?

o       Does prayer change God in any way?

o       Where does the power of prayer come from when I pray?

o       Is it wrong or selfish to pray for myself, not just for others?

o       Is there one form of prayer that is more effective than another?

o       Is The Lord’s Prayer a prayer we should still use today?

o       How am I supposed to pray when I don’t know how?

o       When I pray with weak faith, will God still hear me?

o       Why do so many prayers go unanswered?

o       How does God expect me to persist in prayer when I don’t see His working?

o       Why does God seem close at times but also far away at other times when I pray?

o       Is God obligated to answer prayers according to how we want them answered?

o       Does prayer make a difference in world events?

o       Is the fulfillment of God’s will take longer or the advancement of the kingdom goes slower because we don’t pray?

o       Am I allowed to voice my anger at God or whine about my life in prayer, or cry out about life’s circumstances?

o       Does God hear ritual (repetitious) prayers any more or less than spontaneous/original prayers?

o       Why did Jesus have to pray to His Heavenly Father at all?

o       Does God concern Himself at all to the point of intervening in our daily lives when we pray?

 

These and a host of other questions plague us even as believers.  Ironically in an age of information and technology, we still find ourselves floundering with these type of questions about prayer.  Perhaps you have your own set of additional questions.

 

In a preaching series entitled, “Prayer Questions 101” (beginning on September 9^th through October ), I hope to share with you biblical answers to some of these questions.  However, these questions should not discourage us in our own prayer life.  As Thomas Merton once said, “Prayer is an expression of who we are … we are a living incompleteness.  We are a gap, an emptiness that calls for fulfillment.”  Or as Simon Tugwell said, “Prayer allows me to admit my failures, weaknesses, and limitations to One who responds to human vulnerability with infinite mercy.”  Furthermore, it is Philip Yancey who profoundly said, “Prayer allows a place for me to bring my doubts and complaints – in sum, my ignorance – and subject them to the blinding light of a reality I cannot comprehend but can haltingly learn to trust.”

 

It’s my desire to see us ALL of us, as a community of believers, grow in the practice of prayer, despite the questions we bring before God.   As Yancey has said, “Prayer is not a means of removing the unknown and unpredictable elements in life, but rather a way of including the unknown and unpredictable in the outworking of the grace of God in our lives.”  In this statement alone we find inspiration and hope in our prayer life.  After all, “we pray because we can’t help not praying.”

 

To the basic question, “Does prayer make any difference at all?”  Indeed, it does as we extend ourselves to God’s care, plan, and will for our life.  As Tolkien put it, “Prayer is the key of making life an adventure.”  

 

Let’s explore this adventure together!

Pastor John

 

Note:  The book, “Prayer – Does It Make Any Difference” (by Philip Yancey) is a primary resource book I’ll be using for this series.  It is one of the best books on prayer I’ve ever read!  You may want to pick up your own copy!