HOW TO PRAY IN 2023 - EXAMPLES FROM LIFE AND THE BIBLE

We’ve probably all heard that prayer is one of the most important aspects of the Christian life, which is absolutely true. But what is prayer, and how does God want us to engage with him? Let’s explore the scriptures and even our modern lives to get the most out of our time with God.

WHAT IS PRAYER FROM THE SCRIPTURES?

The Bible doesn’t define prayer in a single verse. For most of my life, I was taught that prayer is communication with God,  petitioning him, and making our requests known. As I grew in the Lord, I came to understand that communication is a two-way street and that It’s important to give God time to speak and to have ears that are willing to hear.

Here are some ways people have communicated with God in the Bible:

• Gen 4:26, “...then began men to call upon the name of the LORD.”

• Ps 141:1, “LORD, I cry unto thee: make haste unto me; give ear unto my voice, when I cry unto thee.”

• 1 Chron 16:11, “Seek the LORD and his strength, seek his face continually.”

• Ps 109:30, “I will greatly praise the LORD with my mouth; yea, I will praise him among the multitude.”

• Ps 27:14, “Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.”

• Matt 7:7, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:”

• Phil 4:6, “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.”

• Dan 9:3, “And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:”

• James 1:5, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.”

At the very least, prayer is talking with God and lifting up our voice unto him. The notion of “sending good thoughts” or “positive vibes” isn’t biblical. 

In Luke 11:2, Jesus said unto his disciples, “When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.”

James 4:2 says, “...ye have not, because ye ask not.”

Prayer is active and different from meditating on or thinking about our requests. We make them known by our voice. 

LISTEN AND ALLOW GOD TO SPEAK IN PRAYER

Samuel was a powerful prophet in Israel before there was a king. But when he was a child, he didn’t know the voice of the Lord. One night God spoke to him, but Samuel mistook his voice for the voice of Eli, the old priest. Eli told Samuel to answer if he heard the voice again.

“And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth.” (1 Sam 3:10)

Let God speak to us. He may speak while we pray or soon after. He may speak days or weeks later, but we should expect answers. It’s important to God that we pray in faith and with confidence, knowing that he hears and cares about our requests.

“But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” (Heb 11:6)

PRAYER POSITIONS

It seems God is much more concerned with the condition of our hearts than the position of our bodies in prayer. The Bible tells of people bowed down, laid out on the ground, standing, kneeling, sitting, and walking. 

Most of the time, I pace back and forth. But there are times I do feel like kneeling or laying out on the floor. Pray in whatever position you feel to at the time.

ASKING FOR MORE UNDERSTANDING ABOUT PRAYER

I sought the Lord about prayer one morning in my backyard recently. I said, “Lord, I don’t think I understand prayer as I should. Your word tells me things like, ‘pray without ceasing,’ and ‘If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.’ Yet sometimes, I feel like my prayers just go to your spam folder. No offense, but what’s up with that? What am I missing?”

The frustration I felt is normal for all believers, whether babes in Christ or elders. We all experience downtimes and spiritual plateaus and need wisdom. Sometimes our discontentment is his way of proking us to growth. His ways are “past finding out” according to Rom 11:33, so we’ll never reach a place where there’s nothing more to learn or experience.

Plus, our lives aren’t static. We’re constantly changing and growing. Our world is ever-changing. Sometimes we all just need is:

• reminding of things we once knew

• a change of perspective

• To become new wineskins to be able to accept new wine.

Well, I can report that God answered me! He gave me a modern living experience to help me better understand prayer in a way I’d never considered before.

PRAYER: LIKE SYNCING & UPDATING DEVICES

If you have a smartphone or a computer, then you’re probably familiar with little messages like this:

Software updates are essential for numerous reasons. They include bug fixes to improve the device’s functionality and make it much more efficient. Updated devices usually don’t experience compatibility issues with the latest apps or software. 

What happens if we don't install updates? The potential consequences of not installing security updates are damaged software, loss of data, or identity theft. Malware causes millions of dollars of damage worldwide!

Every device needs to be updated. If you have multiple devices, say, a smartphone, desktop, and a Chromebook (I love my Chromebook, btw), then you’ll want to keep them synced as well, so the information is current on all devices. Updates need to be downloaded and installed in order to run, which can take a few seconds to almost an hour. Syncing is usually pretty quick.

That’s the tech talk. Now, let’s get spiritual. 

In this little parable, we are the device that needs to be frequently updated and synced. We must download, install, and run all our Master’s updates and stay synced with him. Synching is the two-way part of this, where I send up my questions, petitions, requests, intercession, etc. Syncing also happens as a church when we assemble together and allow each other to use the gifts he’s given us for the edifying of the church.  

PRAYER GOING FORWARD

Thinking of prayer as Updating & Syncing puts a whole new spin on my understanding of prayer and its importance. It emphasizes the reality that I’m not doing God a favor when I pray; I’m the one in need, not him. My thinking, understanding, attitude, and emotions need regular renewing. If I don’t stay synced up with my God, I’ll miss critical updates that can lead to walking in error.  Not good!

For example, remember when God told Abraham in Gen 22:2, “...Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of?”

Abraham obeyed. He took Isaac up to Moriah, placed him on the altar, grabbed a knife, and pulled back his hand, but because he was synced with God, he got the latest critical update just in time! Take a look:

“Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.” (Gen 22:12)

My perspective of time with God is changing too. When my devices need updating, it takes as long as it takes. I don’t have any control over it, I just have to wait for the whole process, download, install, run, to finish.   

In like manner, I need to be okay with waiting on the Lord in prayer. Quiet time and listening is still prayer. Don’t rush it. The “update” I need now could be for something unexpected and important happening soon. But every prayer time will be different. Just as some updates are quick and don’t require a system restart, so some prayer times will be just a few minutes. 

“And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.” (Eph 4:23-25)

I hope you found this Updating & Syncing illustration as helpful as I did. Let’s stay Updated & Synced, my friends!

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