Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us day by day our daily bread.
And forgive us our sins,
For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
The subject of prayer has come up in our last two Bible study sessions. I guess I have never really thought about why we pray before.
When I was in DTS with YWAM we had to get up early and do intercession for India and North Korea, fast on Fridays for America and spent hours on our faces before the Lord. Mostly I slept through it (because really, who can close their eyes and pray for an hour at 7am!?). I didn't engage and I didn't get it. I blamed it on the morning... and on my stomach.
Recently, a tragedy struck a church I am very close with. I found myself praying a blanket over everyone involved and everyone that knew the boy who died and was reminded of the YWAM prayer sessions. I suppose praying for the masses in India is different than praying for a few hundred in Dublin, California... but is it?
I brought this up at Bible study last week and we decided that prayer is for us. Mostly God is going to do what He is going to do, but not only to we get to be involved, but we are commanded to be involved.
I'm not sure I buy this. I think it's more complicated than that... but in God's infinite infiniteness its more simple, too.
I could spend my whole life trying to get to the bottom of this and will never really succeed, but that's fine. God is too big to fingure out, and it's not that I doubt Him. That He is there, that He listens, that 'prayer works!'... I just don't get it, and the more I think about it the less I get it.
Step 1 was to search prayer on BibleGateway.com- the NIV has 155 references to prayer so I guess it is time to dive in.
Here is what I think I am looking for:
-Why do we pray? I mean REALLY why.
-Do my prayers change God's mind?
-If I don't pray for something will it not happen?
This links to Facebook, and I would love to hear what you think, too.
1 comment:
Hey Casey,
Pumped that I found your blog. And I love the first post that I got to read. Great questions that I have wondered myself. Can the "Unchanging One" change his mind? And can he/will he based on the prayers of his creation? I think you might be on to something in regards to the primary reason for prayer being obedience. But I also think there is something to say about the efficacy of prayer, otherwise it seems insignificant and robotic (to me). BTW, ran into Nikki today at Peets (where you weren't working) and she said you admired Matt and I for our 5:30 prayer time. It doesn't take much to be as holy as us. :) just kidding. See you at Peets...
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