Essay: A life of prayer
A life of prayer is essential to a Christian congregation. Where prayer is not constantly present, trust is not there as well, for prayer implies trust. Or to put it another way, when trust in God is not present, a life of prayer tends to be absent well. Prayer is directly connected to the gift of faith in Christ.[1] As we come to trust Him unconditionally, we know that we can talk to God, openly and sincerely, through Prayer.
The Large Catechism, in the introduction to the Lord’s Prayer teaches about the importance of prayer in the Christian and congregational life.[2] The following paragraphs bring is a summary of it.
Nothing is more necessary than continually living in God's ears, crying out and asking him to give us, preserve and multiply faith and fulfillment of the Ten Commandments and remove everything that stands in our way and prevents us. It is for this reason that the Lord Jesus Christ himself gave us guidelines on how to pray.
We cannot think that it makes a difference whether we pray or not. “Let no one think that it is all the same whether he pray or not, as vulgar people do, who grope in such delusion and ask, Why should I pray? Who knows whether God heeds or will hear my prayer? If I do not pray, someone else will.” The teaching is clear: “But it is our duty and obligation to pray if we would be Christians, as much as it is our duty and obligation to obey our parents and the government; for by calling upon it and praying the name of God is honored and profitably employed.” God Himself has commanded us to pray and has added His promise to prayer. For leaving the practice of prayer aside can be tantamount to considering God a liar.
Every Christian is invited to pray, but there are situations in which people approach their pastor asking him to pray to God in their place. This may be an indication that they consider the pastor someone “closer” to God than themselves. The Catechism helps us here again: “For we allow such thoughts as these to lead us astray and deter us: I am not holy or worthy enough; if I were as godly and holy as St. Peter or St. Paul, then I would pray. But put such thoughts far away, for just the same commandment which applied to St. Paul applies also to me; and the Second Commandment is given as much on my account as on his account, so that he can boast of no better or holier commandment.” We can pray confidently that our prayer is certainly as precious, holy, and pleasing to God as that of any pastor or blessed Christian of the past by virtue of His word. For on the commandment on which all Christians have based their prayers we also base ours. Also, when the discouraging thought arises, “I don't know how to pray,” we can remember that prayer is learned and practiced throughout the Christian life. Also, that we have within our hearts the most excellent prayer, the Lord’s Prayer. One cannot find a nobler prayer on earth, since it has the excellent testimony that God loves to hear it. We should not exchange it for the goods of the whole world.
As for the content of Prayer, “whoever wants to pray must present, expose, name something they want. Otherwise, it cannot be called a prayer.” And prayer doesn't just happen in extreme moments, but it is a habit to be cultivated every day. “We must from our youth get used to praying daily, each for his own need, wherever he feels something concerning him, and also for the need of other people among whom he lives.” And prayer is also protection. “We must know that all our defense and protection is solely in prayer. Because in the face of the devil, with his power and followers, who oppose us, we are too fragile, so that they could easily trample us underfoot. We must, therefore, reflect on this and take the necessary weapons for Christians to be equipped to resist the devil.”
Prayer is not just a habit, but a special gift given by God to His children to be utilized and practiced in their daily life.
Prayer in daily life
The biblical teaching leads us to a life of prayer. These are some further reflections on the practical aspects of this precious gift.
Ask and it will be given to you. Jesus says that whatever Christians ask for in prayer, believing, they will receive(Matthew 21:22). For the text and its context, “Believing” is a key word. Christians who pray believe that God’s wisdom is unmatched. He knows best about needs, dreams, problems, and frustrations. Therefore, prayer is done based on unconditional confidence in His Provision. Requests and prayers are presented to God within this knowledge and trust. Prayers are done within the Will of God, in which they are always heard and answered.
I can do everything in him who strengthens me. When taken out its context this text can turn prayer into the magic talisman to get everything we want from Christ. However, what Paul tells us is that he “learned to be content in every situation.”(Philippians 4:13) The antecedent of this verse is “I know both to be humbled and also to be honored; I already have experience of everything and in all circumstances, both of plenty and of hunger; both in abundance and in scarcity;” We can do all things can in Christ when facing situations of abundance and scarcity with the strength that He gives. Something we don’t always realize about this text is that it encourages contentment not only in scarcity, but in abundance as well. “To be content with little is hard; to be content with much is impossible.” (Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach) Learning to be content with much can be more challenging than in scarcity. Abundance may generate temptations of impatience, anxiety, and greed, which lead to spiritual downfall. Prayer brings the heart before God to ask contentment and strength in face of both scarcity and abundance.
Content of Prayers. In our congregations we have the practice of including special requests and intercessions in the Prayers of the Church. Sometimes this list presents almost exclusively requests about illness and difficulties. As we should continue to do so, we can bear in mind also that our requests do not need to be limited to that topic. The list of the things we can bring before God can be diversified. Some examples could include: for more witnessing opportunities; for enemies; school children and teachers; husbands and wives who face marital stress and disharmony; common sense and selfless service from political leaders at all levels; police services, first responders and military, especially those on highly dangerous missions; medical teams; children who go to bed hungry every night; the sanctity of life - for the unborn and for people of all ages; primary caregivers of loved ones with chronic debilitating illnesses; heavy rains in areas of severe or moderate drought; Christian churches, pastors, teachers and missionaries; Christian teachers and administrators in public schools. people in areas of violent storms of any kind; women (and men) living with abusive spouses; people struggling with gender identity; comfort for those who have lost loved ones; single parents and their children; children living in abusive homes; for strength in the face of persecution.
Dedicated time. We can pray anytime, anywhere, and for any amount of time as well. But dedicating quality time to prayer is also a useful discipline. If we manage to have dozens of minutes to scroll randomly in our cell phone, it is possible to develop a discipline of specific time for prayer. There is no shortage of reasons for prayer, and prayer involves discipline and constant practice.
Praying for those who have no faith. The Church must pray for opportunities to witness for Jesus to them. Our best friend, or our loved one, will not be with you in eternity if they leave the world without faith in Jesus. As the opportunity to talk about Christ does not always arise spontaneously without it seeming forced, we can pray asking God to impel us with his Holy Spirit to share the Gospel also with our attitudes and way of life.
Praying at all times. One of the challenges of the Church is to continue to praise God’s goodness in times of distress. A life of prayer doesn't automatically mean a life of constant success and getting everything our heart desires, and it makes it hard to reconcile it with sentences such as “God is good all the time” and “God is wonderful, he hears our prayers”. They may not appear as often when bad times come, for example, when someone dies after Christians have prayed fervently for their recovery, or faithful Christians undergoing suffering, accidents and bad things happening to Christians, and others. However, we continue to say, “The Lord gave, the Lord has taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord,” for our Christian Lutheran language of faith is not one of glory but of humility and cross. We continue to pray "Thy will be done" trusting that His Will is always done, and all prayers are answered, even when not in the way we expect them to be. "The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working "(James 5:16) point to the prayer of a person who is in Christ. The effectiveness is not in the righteous, but in the one who justifies him.
Back to the Catechism, we are reminded of the promise God has attached to prayer. “In the second place, we should be the more urged and incited to pray because God has also added a promise and declared that it shall surely be done to us as we pray, as He says: Call upon Me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee.(Psalm 50:15) And Christ in the Gospel of Matthew: Ask, and it shall be given you. For everyone that asks receives. (Matthew 7:7) Such promises ought certainly to encourage and kindle our hearts to pray with pleasure and delight, since He testifies with His [own] word that our prayer is heartily pleasing to Him”.[3] Prayer and Promise go hand in hand.
A praying congregation is a trusting congregation. Therefore, it is a living congregation who continues to engage in God’s Work with Trust, Hope and Joy in Him.
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