we’re in a series on prayer at westwinds. we encouraged people to see all of life as prayer… every second a chance to engage GOD… sometimes through words… sometimes not.
if you like... you can download the talk free by clicking here.
after dave spoke… he had me, john and ben come up and respond to his thoughts with our own. it was pretty fun… and hopefully a bit helpful.
one of the things that came to my mind as i was listening… was the realization that over the last century or so… we have elevated “intercessory” prayer above other forms. i’m not sure… but this may be more prevalent in the holiness and charismatic traditions than others. interceding for someone… asking GOD for something… or on behalf of someone… is a wonderful and important part of living together in the KoG. But over the years, most of my prayer guilt has come from feeling like i’ve not prayed enough… especially for others.
but i wonder how much of these kinds of prayers are more motivated by guilt than by a conviction that they really make a difference. i wonder if my prayer life in the past has been more about fear… fear that if i don’t pray for… or pray enough for… or hard enough for that person or situation… maybe GOD will not provide… respond… or answer?
i had a good friend say to me recently regarding a situation we were facing, that they had “covered” us in prayer. but in that conversation, they confessed that at some point they had gotten caught up in other things and forgot to keep praying for us… until, that is… they remembered and were able to re-establish the “prayer cover.” hmmmm…
while i’m truly thankful for the prayers… and truly do believe they somehow help… …i bristle at the thought that our “GOD protection” or “GOD assistance” would possibly halted or weakened because we weren’t being prayed for “at all times” or “as well” at some point. and i further cringe at the thought of this person feeling fearful that something negative may have happened during their time of forgetfulness.
i’m the first to admit that i don’t understand all the ins and outs of prayer. i don’t get how it works and how it moves GOD. i know some people think it doesn’t move him at all… that it’s completely about a relationship with him and not a way to move his hand. i agree with that mostly, but i guess i’m not completely comfortable with it either.
while i’ve been at a place on my journey where i’ve looked at life as prayer and prayer as life… i also recognize and feel a growing conviction to re-establish a habit of concentrated times of prayer. chunky prayers. but this time without the pressure… and the guilt.
lots to learn…
aaaahhhh… life in the fog…