An Evolution to Prayer?

1 John 5:14-15 (English Standard Version)

¹⁴And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. ¹⁵And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.

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Prayer is a concept that I feel is widely misinterpreted. I think both non-christians and christians fall into the trap that God is some genie in the bottle and if we rub the bottle a certain way then...*poof* our prayer will be granted! I can't even recall the number of non-christians I've had conversations with that base the reason for their disbelief on the fact that some prayer or another, often spoken desperately in painful circumstances, wasn't answered the they wanted. So....then...naturally, there must have been no God to hear their request...or perhaps God isn't chalked up to be what everyone makes Him out to be...maybe He isn't as all-powerful and all-knowing as some profess.

I'm not going to say I have God figured out (who does?), or prayer for that matter. In fact, I've had my struggles with the concept of prayer myself. Not because what I asked for wasn't granted but because I didn't see the point in asking it in the first place. After all, if God knows the words we say before we utter them (as the Bible states) than why bother utter them at all? ...I know, perhaps that is cynical, but sometimes I can't help myself from allowing cynisicm to creep in and invade my thoughts/attitudes. We all have our faultlines in our faith, our weak points, the concepts or questions we struggle with, and prayer has been my faultline in the past. I guess that's what makes us so human.

This verse though illuminates one truth regarding prayer, giving us some spiritual food to chew on. "If we ask anything according to His will..."....Hmm...according to His will...The Bible also talks about our spiritual maturity and how the deeper we walk with God, the more we start to understand His truths and the more we understand His truths we are are changed by His presence in our life- by fearing Him, by worshipping Him, by praising Him and by opening humble hearts wide to let his light in, casting out the darkness buried shamefully deep in our soul's corridors.  And the more we allow our false illusions to be shed, our attachments to this world to loosen and fall away, the more we are conformed to the likeness of Christ. The more closely attuned we become to the will of God. The easier it is to pray honestly and openly and refreshingly in God's presence.

So that makes me wonder outloud this morning...there surely must be within the history of every believer an evolution of prayer. Where perhaps one first started off with a list of demands or wants or needs to God, expecting them to be met, wondering waiting, sometimes impatiently, for their "wishes'' to be granted. And then perhaps progressing to the point where they were so awed by the magnificence of their Creator that they felt so small in the presence of one so vast and eternal where they felt shamed from asking anything at all. Then, perhaps progressing to the point where, though humbled, they felt the closeness and connection to draw close to God, to share their thoughts, their pains, frustrations, fears, in more of a conversation and less as one making a proposal before God. And then perhaps, as some have experienced, even closer, where words are no longer necessary.

I wish I had more time this morning to reflect on this, but as I don't want this post to become so long as to lose some readers I think I will continue it another time. I guess we can all ask ourselves this morning where along the point of evolution our prayer life stands and in what direction it is going. Are we moving closer to experiencing God personally, or further away? And why? Is it because we imagine God as some genie and feel wounded when our requests aren't granted? Is it because we think God is too far outside us and above us where He can't be approached? (He is much greater than ourselves but the thought that He can't be approached and made personal is nothing but a lie! The Bible tells us to approach the throne of God with confidence! )...or are we in a very comfortable place where we are growing more and more in the truths of God and run eagerly each time we enter prayer into the arms of our Maker, thanking Him, praising Him, and sharing with Him all our thoughts/worries/experiences/pains and seek His will first before requesting anything?

There was a long span of time when I didn't pray at all. Yep, I said it, I had no prayer life. Let me tell you friend, that is a hollow and dark place to be. We need a connection with our creator! So, let me just say that if you find yourself in that place right now just reach out to Him, even just a few honest words coming from your heart opens the gate to His presence. Just say those words and wait...let your soul wait in silence... and God will fill the emptiness of your soul with joy unimaginable. He will provide you with a blessed assurance. 

~May you walk in His light and love this day. Many blessings.