“I am praying to you because I know you will answer, O God. Bend down and listen as I pray. Show me your unfailing love in wonderful ways. By your mighty power you rescue those who seek refuge from their enemies.”
Psalm 17:6-7 NLT
David expressed his assurance about his prayer life. Put simply, he prayed because he knew God would answer him. There is something about prayer that people misunderstand. We have our liturgical prayer books such as the Anglican Book of Common Prayer. Or we can soon find books of prayers overflowing with feel-good poetry. And of course we have the Psalms, a wonderful God-inspired resource written many years ago. A dignitary might write down a prayer when asked to open an assembly, and we have the time of prayers at a school assembly. But prayer has become to many a stilted and flowery statement rather than what it should be – part of conversation with God. In a human setting, two people will engage in a conversation and will talk to each other in a way that communicates their thoughts and feelings, opinions and fears. Human communication is very much a two-way process of talking and listening, as issues are discussed and even problems resolved. But somehow we struggle to communicate with God. It could be that we can’t see Him. Or because He may not respond in a way that we need Him to, so that the conversation can continue. And so we have devised a process called prayer, a one-sided verbalisation of our needs and wants that we launch into the air like paper aeroplanes in the hope that one of them will fly all the way to God’s throne and He will pick it up and answer. Some people get quite good at praying, with long monologues full of “thee’s” and “thou’s”, spontaneously spoken out in a church meeting, and afterwards they feel quite good about themselves, considering the job done. A cynical view? Perhaps, but even Jesus’ disciples struggled with prayer – it’s not a new thing that only modern believers suffer from.
Conversation with God is what prayer is really all about, and, like any other conversation, it is two-sided. David was assured of that, because he knew confidently that God answered his prayers. But what do we pilgrims expect when we pray? Are we equally as confident that God will answer our prayers?
Part of a conversation between two people is a getting-to-know-you process. The way another person responds to a question, or reacts to a statement, exposes their inner person and contributes to a relational process that either grows well, even into friendship, or it brings the conversation to a speedy end with incompatible differences. We can’t ask God direct questions about Himself, but all the information we need is contained within His Word, the Bible. And the more we read it, the more we will find out about our wonderful God.
Jesus taught about prayer in His Sermon on the Mount. We read in Matthew 6:5-6, “When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get. But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you”. Jesus continued, “When you pray, don’t babble on and on as the Gentiles do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!” And then we have what we call the Lord’s Prayer, a template for praying the God way. Matthew 6: 9-13, “Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us today the food we need, and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us. And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one“. How many times have we recited that prayer in a church service, words that we know from memory, but what do they really mean in practice? Jesus didn’t say that His prayer was all that there was. He said “Pray like this …”. There’s worship here, gratitude, expression of needs, an appeal for God to touch earth once again, a confession of sins, and protection from evil. Not a complete list of tick boxes, but an outline to which we add our own flavour, seasoned by our relationship with God.
With regard to his prayer life, David was a simple soul. He spoke out his fears and his needs. He reminded God of His obligations. He ranted and raved at God when under duress, emotional outbursts that we wouldn’t dare repeat in case we upset God. But David knew His Lord, and could confidently say that his prayers were answered. How about us pilgrims? Are we just was confident or merely going through the motions? But one thing we do know is that at the start of the day we need to get close to God. It may not always be convenient. Some days we won’t even feel like it, preferring to have extra time in bed. But the more we spend time with God in prayer, the more we will find that he respond to our stuttering verbalisations, giving us the assurance we need in times of need. The assurance we receive from God is indeed blessed.
Dear Father God. Once again we come to You in worship and with thankful hearts. We know that You are there for us, each and every moment, leading, guiding and assuring us on every step of our pilgrimage to Heaven. Amen.
Being a Pilgrim 