This is the next part in the series. Feel free to jump back and check out part I.
…So, as I typically do when I face really challenging things, I fell on my community to get started. In addition to my wife and other friends, I asked the men I meet with each week to study this with me.
Trying to be as clear as possible, I asked, “Does prayer matter? Does prayer change anything that I pray about?” …and anything these questions lead us to
Then, to be even more specific, I threw down this gauntlet: “I have a good friend who has terminal cancer. The medical community has said she will die imminently from this cancer. Only God would have the medical know-how and power to keep her from dying. Assuming that I, and others, pray according to all of the insights into prayer that are offered in scripture, do her odds of living or dying change when we pray?”
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On that note, let me go over some of the guidelines, or insights, or whatever word you feel most accurate, that I see that the Bible offers about prayer.
I almost wrote “proper prayer” but rejected the idea. I know that I don’t want to create a list of rules about prayer – Jesus doesn’t, so I sure am not going to. I think the imagery of a child coming to a loving Father, who happens to be the King, entreating Him for a good and personal gift is correct, and I don’t think that is done by rules. God forbid that my children ever feel like they would need to check off a series of boxes in order to increase their chances of getting what they ask for.
However, Jesus and others offer what I think are meant to be personal insights into prayer and the character of God that I want to look at with you. I am sure these are not exhaustive by any means, and I encourage you to post others you know of. I strongly encourage you to look these up… they include direct passages and parables…
Start with the idea that would should be in a state of prayer – in ongoing conversation with God kind of all of the time, it seems… Without ceasing, devoted (1 Thess 5:17, Luke 18:1, Rom 12:10-12, Eph 6:18). Beyond this, here is a short list of “guide posts” for the process of prayer:
- According to His will (Matt 5:14, 6:10,8:2-3, 26:39, 1 John5:14-15)
- As from a Father who loves to give good things (Matt 7:7-11, Rom 8:15, Gal 4:6)
- Without fear (Rom 8:15, Heb 10:19-22, Phil 4:6)
- In community (Matt 18:19, Acts 1:14)
- In faith, without doubt (Matt 21:21-22, James 1:6-8, Mark 6:4-6, Rom 8:26)
- In Jesus’ name (John 14:11-14, 16:23-26)
- Avoiding bad motives (James 4:3, Matt 6:5-8)
- Make sure your own life is God-honoring (1 John 3:22, James 5:16)
There are many others, but these are a good representation. I don’t want to minimize these, and I am sure that sometimes when our prayers go without receiving the response we desire, one of these is wrong or off in our hearts and that plays into it at some level. However, I also do not accept that this explains all of the those times. Prayer cannot really just be a checklist kind of behavior, can it?
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So, if we imagine that we pray for my friend, taking into account and following the guidelines listed above (and elsewhere in the Bible), does prayer change anything for her? I wanted to take those guidelines out of the discussion at hand, as important as they are.
That was the challenge and the only tool we could use was the Bible.
We started looking for examples of times when someone’s situation changed and the change is clearly attributed to prayer. We took a few weeks to examine them, talk through them, and figure out what they meant to us.
And we found more than I expected.
But next week, we are going to visit a particular, and timely, prayer.
This is an interesting question and I look forward the outcome of the study. With that being said I would like to throw a wrench in the process. That wrench is TIME. If God created everything, he then created TIME. Since he created it, he is outside of it’s control and influence. Therefore he already knows the outcome of every situation including whatever I pray for. It is TIME that restricts me from seeing the outcome. Therefore is prayer more just something for me to help pass the TIME.
I do believe that God was outside of time, at least before He created it. Now, in order to have a relationship with us, He exists inside of time. That is my opinion, not doctrine. However, you are right in that TIME is a very important factor… because since He chose the creation He would create before He created time, BUT that also means that He KNEW what we would be praying for BEFORE He created the universe as well – so that our prayers may have directly influenced His decisions (if He so chose) while He was still making decisions about creation! Now, that will bake your noodle.
I think God works and exist within and outside of time. He clearly is omnipresent. I guess the real question has He limited His presence within time or not? My personal belief is He present everywhere both within and outside time. I’m not sure if the prayer makes a difference within His sovereign will. Does the whole theory of middle knowledge come into place in this area of theology as well? Of course the most obvious Biblical example of the prayer of a “believer” making a difference is Abraham and Lot with Sodom and Gomorrah. Would these discussions between Abraham and God be considered prayers?
I see them as prayers, for sure.
I was blessed by this, Chris. What a gift prayer is! God created it, and gave it to us! I actually love to pray! Thanks for your thoughts. KP
Thanks brother – so much of what I do understand about prayer comes directly from you and especially the prayers with you that was my 14 year old calling upon the name of the Lord… and the one that you prayed with me when you introduced me to Psalm 138:8.