Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Psalm 100:3 Prayer reminds us that God is our Maker. That we belong to God. That God is our Shepherd and we are the sheep of God’s pasture. These are truths that prayer helps us to know as living truths. An important aspect of knowing that God is God, is knowing that we are not God. That … [Read more...] about Knowing that God is God as Prayer
Saying Maybe to the God of Love as Prayer
I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief. Mark 9:24 Sometimes prayer is saying “maybe” to God. It is saying “I want to believe you are a God of love, I want to believe you love me, I want to believe you are for me and not against me. Help me to believe these good things about you. Heal the fears I have about you.” We may be guarded and hesitant. Our false and frightening idol gods may haunt us. … [Read more...] about Saying Maybe to the God of Love as Prayer
Saying No to False Gods as Prayer
Yet my people have forgotten me; they burn incense to worthless idols, which made them stumble in their ways. Jeremiah 18:15 We usually think of prayer as an act of saying “yes” to God. We think of it as saying “yes” to the existence of God and “yes” to a relationship with God. But too often the God that we are unknowingly saying “yes” to is a god who is made in the image of people who have … [Read more...] about Saying No to False Gods as Prayer
Longing as Prayer
As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for the living God, When can I go and meet with God? Psalm 42: 1-2 We can go days, even weeks without food. But we cannot go very long without water. Water is a basic survival need. When any of us are deprived of water for a while, our body begins to ache. Our stomach hurts, our head throbs, our mouth and … [Read more...] about Longing as Prayer
Doubt as Prayer
Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this?” Luke 1: 18 We may think of prayer as an act of faith. And so it is. But prayer can also be an honest expression of our uncertainty and doubt. We want to trust God. We want to have faith. But we have so many questions. So many things are unclear and uncertain. Where do we take our doubts if not to God? Where do we voice our uncertainties if … [Read more...] about Doubt as Prayer
Protest as Prayer
How long, O Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, “Violence!” but you do not save? Why do you tolerate wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds. Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails. Habakkuk 1:2-3 These words of protest are not the words of a cynic. They are not the words of a scoffer. These are the … [Read more...] about Protest as Prayer
Questioning God as Prayer
Why, O Lord, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble? Psalm 10:1 The psalmist addressed urgent questions to God. Where are you God? Where are you when we really need you? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble? These are desperate, challenging questions. The psalmist is not posing these questions to a religious leader or scholar in hopes of getting some … [Read more...] about Questioning God as Prayer
Being Heard by God as Prayer
Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my sighing. Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray. In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation. Psalm 5:1-3 Prayer is being heard by God. Prayer is based on the amazing reality that God hears us. God hears our words. God hears our hearts. As the psalmist says, God … [Read more...] about Being Heard by God as Prayer
Being Seen by God as Prayer
She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her, You are the God who sees me, for she said, I have now seen the One who sees me. Genesis 16:13 This prayer, recorded in Genesis 16, is the prayer of Hagar, the Egyptian servant of Abraham and Sarah. Years after God had promised Abraham and Sarah children, and no children had come, they took it upon themselves to “build a family through” this servant … [Read more...] about Being Seen by God as Prayer
God Expressing for Us What We Cannot Express as Prayer
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. Romans 8:26 Sometimes prayer is God expressing for us what we cannot express. It is not uncommon for us to think of prayer as something we have to do on our own power. This way of thinking of prayer often includes the … [Read more...] about God Expressing for Us What We Cannot Express as Prayer